OC Pasts
by CatNinja0122
Summary: Curious to know the back stories of my OC characters who have had two lives? Well the wait is over! Here's where you'll find the complete back stories of Amelia, Sylvia, and Katanlia from their past lives! Who they met, how they died, and a small bit of their childhood in their second lives. (AU, and only because some of the stuff is so far off from the actual show.)
1. Chapter 1: Amelia

So, as I stated in the summary, this is going to be a story that goes into the back stories of my OC characters! And who do I start with? Amelia! Keep in mind that there will probably be a few things you've already read from my multiple stories, so don't freak out or anything. None of these stories will be related, just FYI. I think Amelia's back story will take five to seven chapters, possibly eight. Something like that, anyway. Enjoy! :3

XxXxXxXx

The moon was high in the sky, casting its vibrant, blue light down upon everything that darted around under it. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the girl's bright, blue eyes to see. They shifted around wildly, but they finally settled on the stars that were dotted in the midnight sky. The girl breathed a sigh of relief, having been riled up all throughout the day.

Suddenly, the breeze kicked up a bit, causing the girl's long, brunette hair to whip around in small circles. She closed her eyes delicately for a moment, enjoying the breeze that hit her face and drove her tears away. Her whole life, she'd been a peasant, and it just got worse when she was taken from her family by force. She hadn't seen them in so long, she'd even forgotten what her mother's face looked like.

"What did I do to deserve this?" the girl asked out loud. "What did I, Amelia, an innocent girl such as myself, do to deserve something this awful?"

Amelia opened her eyes, but she was no longer staring at the stars. She was staring at clouds, which seemed to resemble the utter evil that constantly shunned all light out from her life. Tears began to form in the corners of Amelia's eyes as she sniffled, turning away. This was too much. She knew she shouldn't just be sitting there. After all, she was on the run from her captors. If they caught up, she'd be severely punished for fleeing.

The girl couldn't have been more right. As soon as she looked up for a third time, she screamed, staring into the dark, soulless eyes of her captors. They grabbed her fiercely, one circling his arms around her waist and the other grabbing her arms and pinning them behind her back as she was lifted up.

"Gah! Let go of me! Let go of me this instant! This is no way to treat a lady!" Amelia screamed. She gasped when the man in front of her pulled her closer, staring into her frightened sky-blue eyes.

"No, but it's how to treat a slave," the man growled. His breath smelled foul as it hit Amelia's face and nose, causing her to gag and look away in disgust.

Before Amelia had the chance to attack, she was lifted off her feet by her waist and dragged away, screaming throughout the night, hoping somebody would hear her.

XxXxXxXx

To Amelia, the cell still smelled as awful as it did the very first day she'd been captured by these people. She wished she knew who the leader of them all was. Then, she'd have a little more closure. At least she'd know the identity of the one who was making her life a living hell.

The other nineteen girls stared silently as Amelia was gagged, her hands tied by her wrists behind her back. She was thrown against the wall, but because of the gag, her scream was suppressed down to a low mumble. Amelia looked over at the others, seeing the same things she was feeling in their eyes: pain, hurt, fear, and disgust.

One of the men snickered. "See ya first thing in the mornin', slaves," he growled, slamming the door to the chamber and causing the girls to flinch. The room was plunged into sudden darkness, followed by cold. Amelia shuddered, but she slipped into sleep seconds afterward.

But how she managed to, she was unaware of.

XxXxXxXx

Dim rays from the sun flooded the room. Amelia opened her eyes slowly and moaned, quickly finding out the gag had been removed from her mouth. The brunette stared up weakly at the door, which turned out to be part-way open. Thinking maybe she could escape for real, Amelia tried to stand up. That did not work.

She had been tied to the wall.

Amelia moaned again and hung her head, feeling very drained of energy. She couldn't help but wonder where the other girls were at. As Amelia glanced up, she saw a tree rush by, followed by the sound of a whinnying horse. In an instant, Amelia knew where they were headed.

To the slave auction in the nearest town. And she had been moved to her own separate buggy.

They pulled to a stop, and Amelia looked up a bit when she heard voices. She was doing her best to figure out who was talking.

"Is this the correct place?"

That voice was the one of the man who had horrid breath last night when he'd gotten close to her. Amelia tilted her head to the right, confused as heck to who he could be talking to.

"Yes. This is the correct place. The auction will be starting in one hour."

Amelia widened her sky-blue eyes. No, that could not have been _him_, could it? But it was! Amelia began to tremble when she realized just who was talking, knowing on instant he was the commander of her captors.

Prince Vector, who'd recently gone insane enough to start terrorizing every little thing he could get his hands on.

_No!_ Amelia thought, starting to shake slightly. _Not him! Anybody but him! Prince Vector, the master of torture, of all people is the one who has captured us!_

Amelia stopped her thoughts when she heard Vector and his lackeys begin to speak again.

"I am certain you will gain a lot of money during this slave auction, your highness," the man with Vector said. The prince laughed, then chuckled in a low, dark tone.

"Of course I will gain a lot! Have you any idea just how many people want a slave to call their own? Not to mention one as beautiful as these girls! This will be a piece of cake, do not forget that," Vector replied. Amelia could just picture the devious grin as it slithered across his lips.

"Yes, sir. Especially that brunette. What was her name?"

"Are you talking about Amelia?"

"Ah. Yes, Amelia. I'm sure she will fetch a ton of cash for you."

"We shall see."

"Indeed we shall.

The door to Amelia's buggy opened, and Vector smirked when he saw her inside. "Ah. There's my precious one." He smirked like the maniac he was. "You will make me very happy, right?"

"I-I," Amelia stuttered as Vector untied her wrists from the wall. He smirked when he lifted her up, considering the fact he'd only unchained her from the wall, and held her bridal style.

"I'm sure you will, my dear. I'm sure you will."

As the crowd began to gather around the stand, Amelia began to quiver. She wondered if her mother was in there, and she just didn't know it. Vector smirked. Neither of them had realized just how much time had really passed.

"Perfect," Vector hissed. He walked behind the platform of the stand and set her there, then smirked down at her. "Now, listen to me. You will be the final one up there. When you're up there, do not try to escape. I'll have watchmen posted at every corner. Just look pretty and fetch me lots of money. Got it?"

Amelia could only nod.

Vector nodded back, not bothering to speak another word to the girl. As he began the opening speech and brought the first girl onto the stand, Amelia felt tears trickle down her cheeks.

_What have I done to deserve this?_ she wondered as the first of the twenty of them was auctioned off.


	2. Chapter 2

It was strange to Amelia just how fast this auction was really going. To her, it seemed that the people of the town knew who the slaves were, which ones they wanted, and had the ability to pull the money they needed out of their pockets like they were portals. Vector had already gotten rid of sixteen of the girls, meaning he was currently on number seventeen. Amelia shuddered. She'd be the one up there soon.

"Sold!" Vector yelled. Amelia could picture him pointing towards the person who'd successfully purchased the girl he'd had up there. She listened as she screamed, protesting she did not want to go.

_Geez,_ Amelia thought. _She must've gotten a horrible master to scream like that. _

"Next!" Vector hollered. His soldiers did as they were told, grabbing the girl that was next in line. Like all the others before her, she struggled to get away and flee. They had all been trying to do that since Amelia had succeeded in escaping that night. It had given them the courage they needed to keep trying.

But so far, that courage was getting them nowhere but Hurtsville.

Amelia listened closely as the people behind her began to yell their prices for the girl Vector had just pulled up on the stand.

"Four fifty!" one yelled.

"Four fifty-one!" another retorted, attempting to defeat his foe.

"Six ninety!"

This guy shut every other bidder up. The crowd instantly went silent, staring at him with crazed looks. Vector, however, was extremely amused. "Anybody going to go higher?" he asked, staring at the crowd below him. When no one answered, he smirked and pointed at the guy who'd yelled the large price. "Guess not. Then sold! Take her to him, boys!"

"No! Let go of me!" the girl yelled. Amelia turned her head away and drowned the next auction out all together. She'd been hearing this for years, and Vector had made a horrid promise to her as soon as he'd nabbed her.

"If I don't get my share of money from you by the time you are sixteen, I shall get my money by beheading you," he'd growled. Those words constantly echoed in Amelia's head. And what was worse was the fact Vector had been waiting until this year for the next time to drag her out for an auction.

For now, she was sixteen years old. It was her last chance to get sold and taken away. Otherwise, she'd be killed.

But in all truth, Amelia was afraid to face both results. She feared death because she was so young, and she had not had much of a life. But because of not having much of a life, she was afraid to keep on living. What if she lived the rest of her life out tortured and beaten every day, for no reason? Then what would be the purpose of going on?

There wouldn't be a purpose.

Suddenly, the crowd began to go wild. Amelia yelped in fear when she was grabbed by her arms, hoisted onto the platform and left to gaze at the crowd with fear in her eyes. She noticed that some of the people were only watching, and she wondered it they were too scared to do anything, or if they were simply too lazy.

It didn't matter anyway. She was never going to get purchased.

_I guess this is it. If I don't get picked here, which I know I won't, I'm done for. _ Amelia did her best to hide her fear. So far, it seemed to be working. No one in the crowd noticed her nervous twitches or her whimpers of caution.

That meant it was safe for Amelia to allow her eyes to wander the crowd. She always did this, in case she somehow managed to spot a familiar face. Not like she thought she ever would, but she had her guesses. And something just felt...different about this place. Like it was destiny or something that she would see someone she knew.

Boy, could she have been more right. It took a few seconds, but soon, Amelia recognized a certain blond in the crowd. A small smile crossed her lips as she squealed on the inside.

Mizael stood in the crowd, just as shocked and happy to see Amelia as she was to see him.

_Mizael! I haven't seen him since I was a little kid! Was he...trying to find me all this time?_ Amelia wondered this as Mizael silenced the crowd. He looked Vector in the eye, giving him a nasty glare that meant nothing but business.

If only that would really freak the mad prince out.

"I shall pay any price you can name, be it gold or be it life, to claim that girl as my own," Mizael said, grabbing his sword and raising it up at Vector's direction. "There is nothing I will not do!"

Vector snickered, amused by the bravery of the next town's local hero. "You'll give up _anything_ to get her?" he asked. Mizael nodded. A small, cocky smile crossed Vector's lips. "Very well. Kill that beloved dragon of yours, and I'll allow her to go. No charge. Of course, if you decline, I'll kill her myself or find someone else."

This was truly a hard decision for Mizael. He went wide-eyed, then looked at the mad prince with his new-found look of terror.

"Kill him?" he echoed the words that had flown from Vector's mouth. "I would never!"

"Well, you are the one who said he'd do _anything_ to get little Amelia here. Isn't that right, Blondie?"

While Mizael was far from amused about that comment, he certainly was not about to let it get under his skin at a time like this. Amelia needed him now. He couldn't let stupid things like that irritate him while he was trying to save his friend.

But what could he do? He loved the dragon as much as he did Amelia, and he cared about them both equally. Killing one was as bad as killing the other! There was no way around death!

_How the hell am I supposed to chose between my loyal dragon and my friend?_ Mizael thought, panicking slightly. _Either way will end up with death. How...am I going to do this?_

It was at that point that the ground began to shake. Everyone looked around wildly, even Vector, who could feel his panic level rising. Only when a flash of light erupted and revealed Dragluon to be the one that had caused the mini earthquake did the crowd calm down.

"What on Earth are you doing here?" Mizael asked, taking a few steps closer to his dragon.

Dragluon turned and looked at Amelia. He snarled at Vector, then engulfed himself in a bright light. Everyone closed their eyes to block out the light. When they were sure it was gone, they went back to staring. Amelia gasped when she saw the area where Dragluon had just been was empty.

Mizael, apparently, noticed this too. "Dragluon? Dragluon, where have you gone?"

"**I have left this realm in order to free the girl, for thy has done nothing to suffer such pain as that."**

The whole crowd was stunned. Vector growled, realizing at once Dragluon had left in order to save Amelia, just as he'd said. He narrowed his eyes, then took the rope from Amelia's wrists. "There, take her," he said, tossing her to the ground. Amelia landed hard in the dirt, and Mizael raced to her side. "A promise is a promise. But I will be back, as I got no money nor pleasure out of that."

Mizael snarled and helped Amelia to stand. On one hand, Amelia was okay. That was a good thing. But on the other hand, Dragluon was gone.

Gone. Never to be seen again in their current lives.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright! I'm back! I realize I took a while longer to update this time, but the Document Manager has been flaking up on me so it took a while to upload this chapter. Anyway, it's shorter than usual, but no matter. Don't forget to review and (hopefully) enjoy!**

XxXxXxXx

The crowd had long since begun to break away and go off on their own. Vector had given one last growl of annoyance and anger before he'd gone off with his men, which just left Amelia and Mizael.

And oh boy. Mizael was _not_ happy.

"He's gone...," Mizael muttered. Amelia felt her sky-blue eyes sadden. She had not wished death upon Mizael's dragon, nor had she wanted to witness Mizael suffer from it. The brunette turned away, then began to walk off in a random direction. Mizael noticed this and, with a swift motion, was in front of the girl. "Where do you think you are going?" he asked.

Amelia froze up for a second, faint memories of her thoughts of torture flooding her mind for a brief moment. She shook herself out of her trance pretty quickly, remembering that this was Mizael. He would not hurt her...or so she hoped.

"It's my fault that he's gone. I'm so sorry," Amelia whispered. Tears streamed down her face as she looked down at the ground. Mizael frowned, then pulled the brunette into a hug, running a hand through her silky hair.

"Do not cry, Amelia." The blond pulled away, then smiled, attempting to forget about what had happened to his dragon. "Now, please, come with me. You will be safe."

Amelia hesitated for a moment. She trusted Mizael, no doubt about that. But she didn't trust Vector, who could pop up out of nowhere at any given moment to kill the two of them. After all, he hadn't made a cent off her. Amelia was positive he was going to get even for that.

"Okay," she said at last. Mizael smiled and extended a hand, which Amelia took. He began to walk away, leading her back towards where he took care of his dragons.

Mizael let go of Amelia's hand when they got there, then turned around and stared at her. "Amelia, how would you like to help me with what I do?" he asked, looking the girl in the eye. Amelia tilted her head to the left, then smiled and nodded.

"Sure, why not? I love dragons."

"I see. Than I am certain you will love this." Mizael turned back around and stared farther into the cave. He whistled loudly, and in an instant, a roar could be heard. Amelia yelped when the ground began to shake, then watched intently as a huge dragon came rushing around one of the corners. It was a red one, with flame protruding from its tail, back, front paws, and just above its ears. It tackled Mizael to the ground, causing him to moan in pain.

Amelia was stunned. "A-Are you okay?" she asked, swaying back and forth a little bit. She watched as Mizael nodded, crawling out from under the fire dragon.

"Yes, I am alright." The blond looked right at the dragon, then chuckled and stroked its scales. "Calm yourself girl. This is Amelia. Surely you must remember her."

The fire dragon tilted her head, then inched closer to Amelia. She blinked when the dragon sniffed her, who sat up and snorted. After a few seconds, the dragon sneezed, causing a large fireball to hit the ground. Mizael smiled and chuckled. "I suppose that means yes," he said, turning to face Amelia.

"This is a remarkable dragon," Amelia began, "but how come you brought her out here?"

"Because," Mizael said. "I want you to have her. She shall be your companion for life as you help me train the others. You will be like...a helper."

Amelia stayed frozen for a moment. Finally, however, she grinned and nodded. "Sounds like a plan!" she said, running up to the fire dragon to pet her scales. The large dragon bent down and nuzzled Amelia, causing her to laugh.

Mizael smiled. "Of course, since she is yours, you get to name her," he reminded Amelia. The brunette nodded, then giggled when she thought of a name.

"I've got one. How about Spitz Spitz Flame?"

"That fits her well, considering some of her sneeze fire hit my arm."

While Spitz Spitz Flame seemed to like the name Amelia had given her, she was not amused by the comment Mizael had just said. To prove it, she faked a sneeze, sending a fireball flying at Mizael. The blond simply stepped aside, allowing the fireball to hit the wall behind him. He smirked. "Cheap shot," he said before walking away. "You shall start first thing tomorrow Amelia. Get some rest."

"Okay." Amelia sat on the ground, then lay down. Spitz Spitz Flame lay next to her, coiling herself around the girl. The brunette snuggled close to her new friend, allowing the heat that radiated from her body to seep into her and keep her from freezing as she soon fell asleep.

XxXxXxXx

Vector snarled in pure, hot-blooded anger. He slammed his fist on the arm of his throne, narrowing his eyes.

"How ridiculous!" the mad prince snapped. "I should have made the most money off of Amelia! And I should've at least been able to get some amusement from that death! But since I didn't...I will plot my revenge."

"Revenge?" one of the knights who served Vector questioned. "What for?"

"That is none of your concern. Fetch me my good sword! I'm going to need it soon!"

The knight didn't need to be told twice. He scurried away, but came running back two minutes later. In his grasp was a large sword, with a silver handle. At the very bottom was a large, Japanese catfish, with fins as sharp as knives.

Vector smirked. "Perfect." He took the sword, then snickered like a maniac. "Soon, I shall have my revenge."


	4. Chapter 4

Rays from the morning sun flooded into the cave. They nearly blinded Amelia when she opened her eyes, which she closed rather quickly. The brunette moaned and rolled over, trying to ignore the fact it was morning and she needed to wake up.

"Amelia? Amelia, wake up."

Amelia's blue eyes opened for a second time. She allowed them to drift over to Mizael, who was looking over at her with a concerned look.

"Hmm? Oh, right..." Amelia sat up and yawned, shaking Spitz Spitz Flame. The red dragon hissed and opened her eyes, but did not get up. "Sorry. I've been tired lately."

"I can see that. You need to start sleeping earlier if you're to get farther along in your dragon training."

"Hehe, okay."

Mizael nodded and smiled. "Good. Now, listen up. I have a very important flight to make to the high king, Nasch. He has requested that I help him rid his land of their newest tyrants, considering the fact his best knight is not around at the moment."

"Okay. When do you think you'll be back? That's a really long trip, after all," Amelia asked, watching out of the corner of her eye as Spitz Spitz Flame finally sat up and yawned.

"Later this evening, If the weather cooperates. This battle will take the majority of the day to complete, so I am trusting you to care for the dragons. If you do a good job of it, I just might promote you to a higher level."

This motivated Amelia. For weeks now, she had been trying to get a higher ranking in Mizael's eyes. And apparently, her increased efforts were finally working.

"I will not fail you, master."

Upon hearing this, Mizael froze. He turned and looked back at Amelia as his new companion dragon, Black Lust, came crashing down next to him, his shadowy figure rippling in the wind like waves in the ocean.

"You do not need to call me by that title, you know," Mizael said, smiling slightly as he climbed on top of Black Lust. "Calling me by my name is just fine."

Amelia bowed politely. "Okay. Then I will not fail you, Mizael."

"That's more like it."

With a single whoosh, the two of them were gone, leaving Amelia alone by herself. Well, not completely alone. She still had Spitz Spitz Flame.

The brunette turned to her dragon, then smiled. "Ready to do a little bit of practicing?" she asked, giggling a little bit. In response, Spitz Spitz Flame roared. Amelia took that as a yes as she led her fire dragon outside, ready to start practicing.

XxXxXxXx

(Just an FYI, you guys will be seeing things from here on out that is from my other stories involving Amelia. Don't get confused or anything.)

"Spitz Spitz Flame! Take aim!"

The large red dragon in front of the young girl roared and bent in a battle stance.

"FIRE!"

Her head raised, and with a howl, she sent a fire ball hurdling towards the tree.

CRASH! The tree hit the ground. Spitz Spitz Flame turned to her trainer. Amelia stepped forward and hugged her dragon, whom she recently started calling "Spitzy" for short when she wasn't giving a direct command.

"That was amazing Spitzy! I'm proud of you, and I'm sure Mizael will be too." Amelia stroked the large dragon's scarlet scales. She growled in a low tone, but truly it was meant to be a purr. Sometimes it didn't come out quite right. The brown-haired girl led her dragon back into the cave. That was enough practice for one day. After all, Spitz Spitz Flame had finally broken a boulder with a single tail slash. Must be tired. Amelia decided they both needed rest.

"Well. That's quite the impressive dragon you have there."

Amelia turned around, startled. That wasn't Mizael's voice. She knew that for a fact. And the person she was staring at was definitely not Mizael. He was a knight, and he had gentle, smokey-gray eyes and gray hair, which stood up in the back with two spikes. It reminded Amelia of a cat.

"Um...yeah. She is." Amelia spoke somewhat hastily. She had her gaze pinned on the beautiful stallion behind the knight that currently stood behind her as she cautiously stepped out of the cave. His wings were folded gracefully behind his back, and he was whinnying softly every now and again, obviously wanting to get some attention from his master.

The knight walked a little closer. "Could I maybe...pet her?" he asked, staring at Amelia for an answer.

"Sure. Be my guest."

Amelia stayed in her spot as the knight walked close to Spitz Spitz Flame. The red dragon growled, but ended up purring when she began getting her scarlet scales stroked. Whoever this guy was, he had a gentle touch that Spitz Spitz Flame liked.

"She's incredible." The knight stopped suddenly, then turned back to Amelia, a small amount of blush forming on his cheeks. "Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Sir Durbe, the noble knight who stands by Nasch and guards his land." Durbe bent to one knee and bowed in front of Amelia. For some reason, she found herself blushing.

"It's okay. I haven't introduced myself, either." Amelia grabbed the ends of her skirt and curtsied, but it ended up being a little more awkward than she'd originally thought it to be. "My name is Amelia. I'm Mizael's assitant in training dragons. Of course, you know Spitz Spitz Flame, seeing as how you've just stroked her scales." The brunette gestured toward her dragon, who bowed her head just as awkwardly as her master.

Durbe smiled softly. "I see. Oh, and this is Mach, my trusty Pegasus."

Mach snorted in response. Amelia watched as Durbe sighed. "Though, he's not a fan of dragons."

"That's fine. Say...aren't you supposed to be with Nasch right now, defending the kingdom?"

"I should be, but Mach needed some outdoor time. I figured he could handle it himself, just this once. Besides, if I hadn't left, I may have never met someone as amazing as you, Lady Amelia."

Amelia blushed. She had never been called something so proper in her life. The brunette watched as Durbe got back on top of Mach, taking his reins in his hands. He smiled gently at Amelia, whose blush got a brighter red as he spoke.

"I hope to see you around some time," Durbe said, getting Mach to start walking away.

"Y-Yes, I'd like that," Amelia stammered. She ignored her embarrassment and watched the two of them soar into the sky, leaving her to tend to Spitz Spitz Flame.

Footsteps came towards Amelia as she and Spitz Spitz Flame sat on the ground. She turned, her long, braided hair going with her. Mizael was finally back from his flight.

"Ah, Amelia. You and Spitz Spitz Flame are doing fantastic. Really good improvement." Mizael smiled, referring to the tree he'd seen outside. He rarely did that now, but when he did he meant it, and had the upmost pride showing for something.

Amelia smiled right back. "Thank you Mizael. I think Spitzy is improving because I've had her take on stronger, less tender things. Did you know she shattered a bolder with a single slap of her tail today? It was amazing!"

Spitz Spitz Flame roared in confirmation. Mizael walked up and patted the dragon's head, then went further into the cave. He shoved one of the large rocks out of the way, one Amelia had never been around to know what was inside.

"Amelia, come here." Mizael motioned with his hand. Amelia took nervous and steady steps forward. Spitz Spitz Flame followed just as cautiously. She took a whiff of the air, catching the smell of other dragons.

Amelia finally made it to the side of the cave. She was nervous to know what was there, and only because she'd never been allowed to go there. Mizael smiled and stepped aside. Amelia gasped and nearly screamed when she stepped inside.

Dragons! Many of them! And they were...tame? She couldn't believe it.

"Oh my goodness..." Amelia turned back to Mizael. "Why are you suddenly taking me back here? I've never been allowed before. What changed?"

"You have proven yourself to me. Spitz Spitz Flame shattered a boulder today, yes?"

"She did."

"That is the strongest thing a dragon in training can do. Now, I have a new task for you."

"A-A new task f-for m-m-me?" Amelia stammered. Mizael nodded and motioned with his hand.

"Come," he said, walking in.

Amelia nodded and followed. Spitz Spitz Flame did the same. Both let out a yelp of fear when a large, black dragon landed in front of them. When Amelia recognized him to be Black Lust, she relaxed. It was just Mizael's dragon.

"What's the new task?" Amelia asked, petting Black Lust momentarily before following her master.

"The new task," Mizael began, staring right at his assistant. "is for you to become a Dragon Whisperer."

The girl went wide-eyed. "Dragon Whisperer?! I...I-I'd be honored to! It would be great!"

"Good. You may start now if you wish. All you must do is make bonds with injured or frightened dragons you find, and then bring them back to me so they may be tamed. Can you do that?"

Amelia saluted. "You can count on me, sir!"

Mizael smiled as he began to leave. "I hope so. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of. Bring back many dragons for me." He walked out of the cave, not bothering to shove the rock back now that Amelia was allowed in. She smiled.

This would be a great. The girl could feel it. She turned to Spitz Spitz Flame. Amelia placed her hand on the dragon's head.

"You ready girl? We have a big job ahead of us."

Spitz Spitz Flame howled in confirmation. Amelia turned to the mouth of the cave. "Then let's get going."


	5. Chapter 5

**New chapter! Now, before we begin, I gotta say something. I'm already back in school. Today is my first day. Updates (although they weren't regular to start with) will be very irregular now. Sorry guys, you might not be seeing me around as often now...but I hope you'll enjoy when I update.**

XxXxXxXx

Amelia was amazed at how fast the month had really flown by. She'd brought back many dragons of different types to Mizael, and he'd been doing whatever he could to help them out. Of course, when he did, he began to train them. Amelia offered to help now and again, but Mizael always refused, saying she needed her strength to defend herself in case any of the dragons she came upon tried to attack her.

That was totally understandable. Considering the fact Amelia didn't always have Spitz Spitz Flame with her, she needed to be able to defend herself, like Mizael said. Amelia had ended up learning that the hard way, when a fire dragon had attempted to turn her into ashes. It had only scarred her arm, but still. It hurt, and it made the point clear.

"Whatever. I'll be ready next time," Amelia said. She looked up at Spitz Spitz Flame. The red fire dragon's tail was swishing back and forth slowly, signifying something was in the air. When both looked up, they were stunned.

Dragons. Many of them. Dragons of all kinds flew overhead. Amelia watched in fear and awe as one large ice dragon dropped down next to her. It looked starved, and it's eyes were shaking in fear when she approached it. A howl emitted from its throat, but came out more like a screech.

"You poor, poor creature," Amelia whispered. She lifted her hand in a gentle motion. The ice dragon screeched again when the girl placed her hand on its head. "Who would do such a thing to you? It's not right."

Another screech, only this time, it was a slow one. A slow one that seemed to be welcoming. With a smile, Amelia stroked the dragon's head. It gazed into her blue eyes as Amelia began to back up slowly. It was her job as a Dragon Whisperer to bring the hurt dragons she made friends with back to her master, Mizael. After all, she was his apprentice. Spitz Spitz Flame tilted her head to the left, then went bounding after her master and the new dragon.

Howling and screeching was heard in the cave Amelia came walking into. The dragon yelped in fear. Amelia smiled and patted its head, then stepped inside. Spitz Spitz Flame charged in, then nuzzled the ice dragon Amelia had just brought in. He flinched, but calmed down when he realized the fire dragon next to him wasn't going to hurt him.

"Mizael! I've brought another dragon!" Amelia yelled. She watched as the familiar figure of Black Lust came bounding in front of her, Mizael close behind. The blond widened his sky-blue eyes, simply staring at the new arrival Amelia had brought back with her.

"Y-You...you have brought back an ice dragon? And you haven't a scratch on you?!" Mizael exclaimed, acting as though the world would be blown to bits if he didn't get his answer.

Amelia raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Yes, sir, I brought back an ice dragon. Why? What's the big deal?"

"The big deal, Amelia," Mizael said, pacing around, "is that you should be torn to shreds! This is an ice dragon we are talking about! Those things are more ferocious than shadow dragons! And yet... you haven't a scratch on you. I suppose you have a nack for these things, correct?"

"I-I guess," Amelia said, blushing slightly. She wasn't used to Mizael speaking so proudly of her. While it did make her feel happy, she was also a little...what was the word she was looking for... nervous? Was that it? Amelia decided to go with that, seeing as she couldn't think of anything else.

Mizael smiled and ruffled Amelia's bangs. "You have great abilities, Amelia. I am impressed."

"Thank you, Mizael. I never stop trying."

"Good. That is what I like about you. Nothing shall hold you down." He smiled again. "Which is why I would like to allow you to keep this ice dragon as your own."

Amelia jerked up in surprise. Had she heard her master correctly?

"As my own?" she echoed.

"Yes. As your own."

This made the brunette smile with glee. She looked at the ice dragon, who appeared to be smiling back at her. "Okay. I think...I'll call him Frost."

Mizael chuckled. "Alright then. Frost it is." The blond turned and walked away. He looked over his shoulder for a moment, revealing the smile on his face. "You should get some rest, young one. Who knows? You could find another dragon tomorrow. One that will not hold back on attacking."

Amelia nodded. She watched as Mizael walked away, Black Lust following him closely. Frost nudged Amelia's side, whimpering. He obviously wanted something to eat.

And of course, she couldn't say no.

"Okay. Let's go get you some food." Amelia climbed on top of Frost. His great, icy wings extended when they emerged from the cave. Spitz Spitz Flame was about to charge after them, but she was stopped when Amelia raised her hand.

Puzzled, the fire dragon tilted her head to the left.

"I only need one dragon, girl," Amelia said, giving a small smile to her dragon companion. "But next time, I'll take you too. Sound fair?"

Spitz Spitz Flame's answer was a lick to Amelia's face. The brunette laughed, wiping the dragon spit off her cheek. "I'll take that as a yes. Now, Frost, off we go!"

A loud roar came from Frost. He'd finally gained his voice back. The ice dragon went bolting forward at a speed that made everything they wooshed past look nearly invisible. At last, however, Frost jumped up, then soared into the air. Amelia squealed in happiness, considering the fact she'd only gone flying one other time on Spitz Spitz Flame.

Spitz Spitz Flame sat on the ground in the cave, watching as her master and Frost entered the burning light of the setting horizon sun. The footsteps of another dragon came walking toward her, as did the footsteps of a human. Spitz Spitz Flame turned around, staring as Black Lust and Mizael came walking to the mouth of the cave.

"Those two must have some special connection of some sort," Mizael said, crossing his arms. "Otherwise, Frost surely would have attacked her when she found him."

All of a sudden, Black Lust let out an eardrum-shattering screech. Spitz Spitz Flame and Mizael covered their ears, but were staring at the shadow dragon with great concern and fear. Shadow dragons, so the legends went, never made sounds other than purrs and grunts...

….Well, unless death was approaching.

XxXxXxXx

"So, you'll be back soon then?" Amelia asked, looking Durbe right in the eye. He nodded.

"I will be back as soon as I can. Just take care of Mach while I'm gone."

"Wouldn't you rather take him with you?"

"Well, yes, but I feel you could use the company."

Amelia smiled. She nodded gratefully, then stroked Mach's silky fur. "I suppose I could use the company. Frost fell asleep. When will you be back?"

"In an hour at the most."

"Okay." The brunette watched as Durbe walked away. She returned her attention to Mach, who appeared to be smiling in a Pegasus sort of way. Amelia smiled and motioned with her hand. Cautiously, Mach followed her. He seemed uneasy to be with a Dragon Tamer's assistant.

Small dragons raced out at Amelia when she got to the cave. Though she'd returned hours ago, she hadn't bothered to go back inside. Rather, she and Durbe had romped around with each other for a while. Amelia yelped and laughed as the dragons circled her, then watched as they did the same to Mach. The Pegasus looked as if he'd have a heart attack if they didn't go away. Amelia just walked over to him and ran a hand through his glossy mane.

"They can't hurt you Mach," Amelia reassured. Mach blinked, then snorted in a form of agreement. Both watched the small dragons for a moment before a larger howl was heard. Running out of the cave came Spitz Spitz Flame, who tackled Amelia in joy. With the knowledge he was safe, Mach simply watched. Amelia scuttled from under Spitz Spitz Flame, then walked into the cave and sat down.

And hesitantly, Mach followed her.

"Okay so...I'm not really sure what to do right now," Amelia said. She looked up and watched Mach. His ears were up, and he was listening to something that was approaching the cave. Spitz Spitz Flame had her attention directed to the same area. Amelia stood up, then walked over and stared outside the mouth of the cave. She smiled broadly and giggled, realizing who it was that was approaching.

Durbe was back.

"Durbe! Come Mach, let's go!" Amelia raced out of the cave, Mach following close behind. The brunette let out a yelp as the Pegasus behind her tossed her onto his back and began to gallop quickly. They skidded to a stop seconds before passing Durbe. He blinked, then watched as Amelia hopped down from on top of Mach.

"I never knew you could ride a Pegasus."

"Well flying dragons have wings too. Both take the same kind of training."

"I suppose that's true."

Amelia looked up at Durbe as he took her hands. They met eye-to-eye for a time, just staring at one another. Mach tilted his head and stared at his master. He was obviously curious as to what he was about to do. In a matter of seconds, however, the question was answered. The Pegasus watched as Durbe got on one knee, then bowed his head slightly.

"Lady Amelia, would you do me the honor of spending an eternity with me, by becoming the princess in my heart?" Durbe looked right at Amelia with pleading gray eyes. A small, sparkly ring was in the palm of his hand. Amelia gasped, then nodded.

"I would be honored to, Sir Durbe," Amelia said. With a smile, Durbe took her hand and gently slid the ring onto her finger. He stood all the way now, and just simply stared into Amelia's blue eyes. Spitz Spitz Flame joined Mach by his side seconds after that with wide eyes. She turned to face the Pegasus beside her. With a nod, her question was answered, and even more clearly when she witnessed her master and Durbe kiss. When they pulled away, Amelia turned to face her dragon. "This is astounding! You know that right, Spitz Spitz Flame?"

The dragon just rolled her eyes. She let out a small chuckle in the form of a growl, then just walked back into the cave. Frost, who had awoken only seconds ago, wobbly and shakily made his way back to the cave too, trying not to walk right into anything. Mach watched as Durbe and Amelia climbed on top of him. His master grabbed his reins gently, then smiled.

"Onward, Mach, for we have plans we must fulfill."

The Pegasus didn't need to be told twice. With a small bit of a run and a few flaps of his wings, Mach was soaring away. The whole time, he was snickering in a snort-like fashion.

Life would never be normal for him anymore, that was for sure.

Little did he know, he was way past right about that. For that night, the sky would fall on many.


	6. Chapter 6

Stars were glinting in the midnight sky. Mach's tail swished back and forth, and he watched as Durbe ran a hand through his mane. Both of them were bushed, and they desperately needed sleep if they were going to function properly later that day.

Durbe smiled sweetly to himself as he sat down. After Amelia had said yes to him, he'd taken off with her in order to properly wed them. He was thankful he'd been able to pull that off, considering the fact the girl had crashed on top of Mach during the flight back to her home. He and Mach had about done the same thing.

Which would have been really bad.

Mach blinked, then took a few steps toward his master. He nudged him, causing him to stand up and stretch. Durbe turned and looked at his Pegasus, smiling greatly as he got on top of him. The two of them hadn't gone far from Amelia's cave. But it had been far enough that Amelia most likely wouldn't be able to hear them go.

"We should go, Mach. I'm sure Amelia will be fine," Durbe said. He gestured for Mach to start off into the forest. As the Pegasus began to veer off to the right, something caught his eye, causing him to stop in his tracks. Durbe tilted his head curiously, attempting to see what his companion was staring at.

All he saw...was darkness.

That soon changed, however, when the familiar shimmer of a blade glinted off the moonlight. Suddenly, thousands of armed soldiers were racing at the two of them. Durbe growled, grabbing his sword in one hand and grasping Mach's reins tightly with the other.

"Mach! Soar up! We must not become injured!"

The Pegasus needn't be told twice. He whinnied, then jumped up and flapped his wings very quickly, attempting to become airborne without the aid of speed. Thankfully for the two of them, it worked, and soon they were flying high above the heads of the soldiers as millions of arrows began to pierce the midnight sky around them.

Mach started to fly faster. His gaze became settled on one of the attackers, and with a swift, single jerk, he forced his master to do the same. Durbe yelped in shock, but he was instantly filled with fear when he saw who Mach was staring at.

Vector.

"What on Earth is that maniac doing here?" Durbe wondered out loud. He turned back, smacking some of the arrows away from Mach's face with his sword. While he'd prefer it that neither of them got hit, he didn't really care if he got hit. Mach could carry Durbe to safety if the knight was the only one injured. If Mach were injured, however...

Well, they wouldn't be getting very far, now would they?

Durbe growled when one of the arrows hit his armor. It had grazed his black undershirt, uncovering and puncturing the skin underneath that. His smokey-gray eyes narrowed as he hit another arrow, causing it to retaliate back and hit the one who'd fired it in the face.

And that was about when it happened. The arrow that held their doom was shot. It hit Mach in the wing, tearing directly through and somehow managing to snap into two pieces. And if that wasn't bad enough, the second piece also injured Mach by getting stuck in his left leg. He neighed in pain, toppling from the sky in an instant and dragging Durbe down with him.

The Pegasus landed right on top of his master. Durbe cried out, not prepared for the pain that had come upon him in that short amount of time. The gray-haired knight growled, trying desperately to get out from under his fallen stallion. He managed to, grabbing his sword and attempting to keep the attackers away from the two of them. Mach could see the trouble his master was having. When he met eye-to-eye with him, he simply gave him a look that said only one word: go.

"No. I refuse to leave you behind," Durbe said, whacking a few arrows and people away with his sword. Mach was stunned, but was impressed nonetheless.

It didn't matter at the moment, though. Mach was concerned with Durbe's safety. If he were to die, who would look after Amelia?

Mach gave his master another look, this time making sure to get his point across and through Durbe's thick skull. The gray-haired knight growled, then shook his head. This left Mach with no other choice.

The enemy was closing in. There was only one thing the Pegasus could think to do in order to keep his master safe. With one, glorious leap, the stallion was on his feet. He jumped right behind Durbe and encircled him with his great wings. Durbe, panicked and in slight pain, watched in horror as Vector's soldiers charged in on all sides. None of their attacks hit him, thought.

Instead, they all hit Mach.

"Mach! No!" Durbe yelled, doing his best not to hurt his companion while attempting to get out from under him. Despite the fact his whole body was on fire, Mach stayed in the position he was in, determined to protect his master no matter what.

Finally, Durbe's small amount of defenses fell. Mach toppled to the ground, most of his silky, white fur being drenched a deep shade of red. Durbe could feel his eyes go wide with sorrow and shock as Vector's soldiers began to attack him. He growled, swinging the sword at them and injuring them badly, but that didn't stop them.

_I have to escape, _ Durbe thought, knocking about five of the men to the ground at once. _I have to. For Amelia!_

Just then, something very odd happened. Half of the men that Durbe had rendered unconscious got up, adding to the group that was already swarming him. With the increased amount of people, it was too scrunched for him to attack. Durbe gasped when he felt his arms get pinned behind his back, his sword falling from his grip.

"Everyone! Stop right there!"

All eyes drifted over, staring at Vector. He smirked, then pointed to the man that was right in front of Durbe. "You there," he said, "pick up the noble knight's sword. Kill him with it."

A crooked smile crossed the man's lips as he lifted Durbe's sword. Durbe widened his smokey-gray eyes, then looked up at Vector. He realized at once that begging would do him no good, and considering that was his only option at the moment, he could only see one outcome: death.

Boy, he couldn't have been more correct.

In an instant, the sword was thrust through him. Durbe screamed in pain, struggling to get free. Even if he did, what good would it do? He'd bleed to death long before he got to Amelia. This really _was _the end for him.

Durbe took one more look at his surroundings before his vision blacked out. And just before he fell over lifelessly, Vector could hear him mutter something.

"I'm s-sorry...A-A-Amelia-chan..."

XxXxXxXx

Something was very, very wrong. Mizael knew that for a fact, and apparently, so did Black Lust. He was just thankful Amelia had decided to fall asleep in the very back of the cave, where all the other dragons were.

Otherwise, she would've been awoken by the loud noises Mizael had been hearing only seconds ago.

Black Lust suddenly jerked up. He growled, then let out a small yelp. The shadow dragon went rushing outside the mouth of the cave, not wishing to wait any longer for the approaching danger. Mizael grabbed his sword from against the wall, then charged after Black Lust. But about as fast as they'd gone out, they'd froze.

There, right in front of them, stood what appeared to be a million men. Each of them was armed with either a bow and arrow or a sword and shield. But that wasn't what had freaked the two of them out the most. What had about given them a heart attack was giving them a stone-cold glare and a maniacal grin.

Vector.

"You," Mizael growled, holding his sword up a little higher. "So, you are the one who has been causing such a ruckus!"

Vector snickered. "You're right, Blondie. If only you could be right for very long. See? I told you I'd come for my revenge on you and Amelia. Oh, and by the way, you wouldn't happen to know where the little Brownie is, would you?"

Mizael glared, deciding Amelia may have a chance to escape alive if he lied about where she was. He turned away, acting as though he would be ashamed of the lie he was about to tell.

"The forest," Mizael lied. "She is in the forest right now. She heard your men coming, and she fled."

Vector chuckled. Thankfully for Mizael, the prince wasn't that bright. He turned to his soldiers, then pointed to the woods. "Go and find her! I'll take care of Mizael by myself."

Each of the men saluted before turning around and rushing into the forest. Vector smirked, then pulled his sword from his belt. The catfish on the end glinted in the moonlight, as did the blade of Mizael's sword.

That soon changed, however, for when the two clashed, each shining object was stained a crimson red. Both had drawn blood, but it was plainly obvious that only one would survive in the end.

And unfortunately, it was the opposite of what Mizael had anticipated.

Vector had somehow managed to grab his sword the right way, tilting it at a certain angle that appeared to give him more control over it than he'd originally had. This had instantly given him the upper hand, for he was able to successfully slash the blond he was fighting across the chest. Mizael gasped, dropping his sword in the process. Behind him, Black Lust growled. His shadowy figure seemed to ripple a little faster as he lunged at Vector.

"Move it or lose it," Vector threatened, raising his sword up a little higher. He smirked, then chuckled darkly when Black Lust decided to continue his attack. "I suppose it's lose it, then."

In one, swift slash, Black Lust was gone. The blade slashed through his thin, thin body, and he basically vanished into a million pieces. Vector laughed, obviously satisfied with his work. "Perfect," he said, his smirk still lingering on his face. "Now, all I have to do is kill Amelia. Then I'll be happy."

Suddenly, a roar came echoing off the boundaries of the stars. Vector looked up, meeting with Spitz Spitz Flame's gaze. Her glare was intense, and the flames on her back that were usually orange were blue. Spitz Spitz Flame howled in rage, angered at Vector for what he'd done. Most likely, she'd found out about Durbe's death.

And now, she wanted to harm Vector. For Amelia.

"Funny dragon. But I'm afraid that you don't stand a chance."

Spitz Spitz Flame growled, the flames on her back getting intensely bright. In a matter of seconds, the fire dragon was on top of the mad prince. She bared her fangs, a few orange flames poking out between each of them. Vector, however, simply smirked. He clutched his sword very tightly, then jammed it into the dragon's chest. Spitz Spitz Flame howled in pain, toppling off her opponent and falling on her side.

"That's what I thought," Vector sneered, standing up and wiping his blood-coated hands on the grass. "Stupid reptile. Had you stopped when I'd suggested, maybe you'd be alive. You know, to stand by Amelia's side."

Vector's violet eyes narrowed, and he cackled when Spitz Spitz Flame's eyes closed. He looked up at the sky, smirking when he saw the color. Morning would be there soon. He'd attack Amelia in a few days. Right now, he needed to flee.

"I will come for you, Amelia. Just you wait and see."

The mad prince vanished into the bushes, awaiting his time to attack.


	7. Chapter 7

Days and days had passed by for Amelia. They were filled with noting but awkward silence and worry. For some reason, she had not seen Durbe. Mizael wasn't around either, nor was Spitz Spitz Flame. Amelia was beginning to worry that something might have happened to them.

"I don't like this," Amelia said, petting Frost's fur. He grunted, as if asking permission to know what it was his master did not like.

"This entire thing. Though the birds are still chirping and the sun is still shining, I have yet to see a familiar soul other than you, Frost, and it troubles me."

Frost seemed to understand this. He sat up a bit and nuzzled Amelia, giving her access to climb on top of him. When she did, he turned around and flew out of the mouth of the cave. For once, Amelia didn't tell him where to go.

He kind of just flew on his own.

That was good. It was what Frost had been hoping for. Ever since the night he'd heard Black Lust and Mizael go out of the cave, he could smell their blood. Whatever had happened had obviously been bad, for they hadn't come back. But it hadn't just been Mizael and Black Lust he'd figured had run into something bad. Durbe, too, had to have done so, as he and Mach hadn't been wandering around with Amelia for any of those days. If he was really okay, he'd be with Amelia right now, not out and about acting as though nothing were wrong.

And Frost was determined to find them all.

The ice dragon took a sharp left, causing Amelia to about fall off his back. She yelped, grabbing some of his fur to keep balance. Her brunette hair was going around in wild circles do to the wind, but for once, Amelia didn't care. She was too concerned with what Frost was doing to care about anything else.

"Frost, what on Earth are you doing?" Amelia asked, inching closer to the ice dragon's face. Frost roared and used his tail to point to the ground. When Amelia looked, she gasped, a horrified look on her face.

Everyone was dead. Corpses were scattered all around. Amelia couldn't believe it. Even Nasch and Merag were dead!

"W-What happened here?" Amelia stammered, climbing off of Frost when he got on the ground. She gulped, shivering a little bit, and took a few steps forward. Mizael was no where to be seen, and neither was Durbe. This gave her some hope that maybe, just maybe, they were alright and okay. But seeing as the king and the princess of the nearest land were gone, Amelia was having her doubts, for she knew that would only happen if Durbe wasn't at his post.

Or, worse, if he'd been killed.

Frost let out a roar. This gained Amelia's attention. She let out a startled yell when Frost wrapped his tail around her, carrying her with him to where he thought something smelled off. Amelia blinked her sky-blue eyes, curious to know what her ice dragon was up to.

It did not take long for her to find out.

After a few miles of running, Amelia could also sense something off balance. Both of them cried out in shock when they saw Mizael, laying there in the grass. He was not moving, nor was he breathing. Amelia was terrified. She stood completely still when Frost untangled her from his tail, but she soon walked forward, falling to her knees when she got to the blond's side.

"M-Mizael," Amelia stammered. "Mizael, w-wake up. P-P-Please, wake up. This isn't f-funny."

It wasn't a joke. Amelia knew this. She just wanted it to be fake. She wanted this to be a cruel joke so that she could be mad for one moment, then hug everyone the next.

That would never happen.

Out of the blue, Frost let out a roar of rage and fear. He bent down very low to the ground, his great, icy wings pressed against his body. Amelia, noticing her dragon's strange and uncharacteristic behavior, looked up at him, her sky-blue eyes wide with curiosity.

"Frost?" Amelia asked. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

The answer Frost gave was dramatic, to say the least. He wrapped his large tail around Amelia's waist, then began to run away. After about five or six long gallops, he took off into the air, soaring away at a speed that Amelia never knew possible for the ice dragon. Considering the fact she'd recently found out he had a rare heart condition she lacked the knowledge to heal, this was rather remarkable.

Frost took a sharp left, then crashed down onto the ground. He looked around, nose in the air. Amelia figured out what he was doing pretty quickly. Smelling. Frost was smelling the air.

"What do you smell, Frost?" Amelia asked, freeing herself from her dragon's tail. He raised his head a little higher, taking in another whiff of the air. When he seemed satisfied, Frost turned and stared at his master, his eyes wide in terror. Amelia tilted her head to the left, giving the innocent look she usually gave to Durbe and Mizael.

Whatever was going on, it was freaking Frost out. And she could tell.

Without any warning, Frost grabbed Amelia again. He howled and screeched, then leaped into the air and flapped his wings very quickly to save time. Although, it ended up being a bumpy ride for Amelia. She screamed in shock and grabbed onto Frost's tail, attempting to keep herself from falling from his now very loose grasp.

Thankfully, she managed to save herself.

Once again, Frost came crashing down to the ground like a comet. He howled and began to rush away, not bothering to set Amelia on top of him or slow down. The ice dragon continued at top speed through the forest, dodging branches and flying over rifts or fallen trees. Only when they got to a clearing did they stop, rushing into a horrid scene.

"O-Oh my g-g-g-god, no," Amelia stammered as Frost set her down. She took a few steps forward, falling to her knees again and covering her mouth with her hands as tears began to stream down her cheeks. The scene they had rushed into was absolutely devastating.

Durbe and Mach lay there, totally still and covered in blood.

"Durbe! Mach!" Amelia screamed. She got up long enough to rush to the knight's side, but fell down next to him as soon as she got there. The brunette put her hands on Durbe's still chest, then lay down on top of him. She caressed his cheek, not caring if she got blood from his wounds on herself. "Wake up. Please, wake up. Show me this is just a joke. Please..."

Nothing. Not even a twitch.

Frost walked over, slowly and cautiously, watching as his master sat up. Her sky-blue eyes were spewing tears, and she was sniffling like crazy. She was sure she'd seen Spitz Spitz Flame's body somewhere in the forest when they raced over. But since she hadn't been able to identify, she'd thought nothing of it. Besides, she was busy mourning over the loss of her husband.

"Durbe... Durbe-sama, I'm so sorry," Amelia whimpered. She was still on top of him when Frost walked closer to them, nuzzling Amelia's side. The brunette looked up, then sniffled when her dragon lay his head on top of her body. Frost let out a whimper of his own, fully laying down.

Amelia sniffled and sat up, gently pushing Frost off of herself before she stood. The girl began to walk away, Frost bounding after her. He knew what she was doing. If he were her, he'd be walking away to attempt to clear his mind too.

They passed through the forest rather slowly. Amelia was looking around at the bodies of the other knights. With every one she saw, she thought of Durbe. Tears began to stream down her cheeks again as she hung her head. Everything here was forcing her to remember him. No matter what she did, she couldn't get the knight out of her head.

But of everything, she didn't see one thing; Vector.

She didn't have time to see him. Amelia cried out as the sword went through her, and right before she collapsed, she turned and saw the crazy prince. Frost, out of fear, howled and raced away. He instantly regretted it when he heard his master scream in pain, but he couldn't force himself to go back. His body wasn't allowing him to turn back.

Amelia seemed to understand. She glanced back at Vector, her eyes shaking with fear and pain. "H-How could y-y-you?" she stuttered out before falling to the ground herself.

Vector simply cackled. "Stupid girl. Did you forget what I told you and Mizael? You would both pay for that. And you both did."

Darkness was beginning to circle Amelia's field of vision. She was suddenly feeling cold, unable to stay up when she tried. The brunette gasped, then simply fell over. Her eyes blinked one or two more times, and then, they simply closed. Vector smirked.

Amelia was finally dead.

The horrid, familiar smell of blood had at last made its way to Frost's nose. He looked up, eyes wide in shock, and roared in fear. Without wasting one more second, he began charging back. The ice dragon jumped very high into the air and spread his wings, wasting no time in becoming airborne as he soared back towards Amelia's direction.

But he knew he was too late. Amelia was dead. From the air, Frost could see as Vector smirked. He loomed over Amelia's lifeless body, not taking the sword he'd thrust into her out of her bloodied side. His violet eyes twitched over towards a sound that was rapidly coming towards him.

The ice dragon. He bounded over to where the bodies lay. Smelled them, licked some of them. Vector remembered correctly that this dragon had recently been named Frost by Amelia.

"Ah, Frost. How surprising you come back here. I sense you realized something was wrong, yes?" Vector stared right at the dragon. Frost's icy-blue eyes gazed into his violet ones as the dragon howled in rage.

Vector however, simply laughed.

"You cannot do a thing about it. Poor thing, if you'd been here moments ago, you may have been able to do something useful. Alas, since you fled like a coward, you failed."

Frost lifted his head and roared. He was angered. The dragon gently lifted Amelia's body and walked away with it. Vector thought it was strange behavior for a dragon, so he followed. When he saw Frost lay the girl down where he did, he understood completely and smirked.

"I see. You put the two love birds together. Interesting."

Frost snorted and placed his clawed paw on Amelia's chest. He had a bond with her, and knew that she and Durbe would've wanted to be together the entire time, even through he also had a secret ability he'd kept hidden from Amelia. The large ice dragon scooted them closer together, finally becoming satisfied with the way they were put together.

Vector went wide-eyed when a glow emitted from Frost's paw. He didn't want to believe this dragon had the special ability of Soul Swap, a special ability awarded to a very limited amount of dragons that allowed them to switch someone's soul with another from the future.

"No! No no no! You shouldn't have that ability! No dragon has for years!" Vector raced up with a totally different sword and tried to stab Frost. He flicked his tail and knocked the prince away, then turned back to Amelia. He seemed to be smiling as he focused, using his special ability to search through the future and find what he called a worthy Swapper.

Frost roared when he did.

The light grew brighter. Vector yelled and shielded his eyes. When he opened them, he could tell something had changed.

It was true. Frost had the ability to swap souls with two people, one from the future and one from the present. And he'd just swapped Amelia's soul with another person's.

That meant she had another chance to live.

Vector snarled. "I will have another opportunity to kill her for good. You'll see, this will have all been done for nothing." He lifted his sword, then thrust it into himself.

Frost just stared around. Everyone was dead now. Even him. The dragon had used the last ounce of energy he had to complete that.

He toppled over, dead from lack of help to his health.


	8. Chapter 8

_Amelia had no clue how it had happened. She sat there, simply staring at herself, __tears streaming down her cheeks. Though she was in pain, she was still only able to think about how she was even alive.__ It was completely mind blowing to her. Though she was only six years old now, she hadn't lost her memories of her first life. _

_And she had been confused of this for as long as she could talk again. _

"_How...did this happen?" Amelia asked herself, staring down at her hands. "It makes no sense whatsoever. I was killed. Me. Dead. There is no way that I'm alive."_

_Slower, calmer footsteps were heard coming up now. Amelia, going into little kid mode, shrieked and hid half-way underneath her blanket. The door to her room opened slowly. Amelia groaned and looked over her shoulder. Her wrist hurt, as did her stomach, where a slash had come upon it. When she saw it was one of the Barians, she shrieked again and hid completely under the blankets._

_The Barian changed to his human form and smiled. He walked over and gently pulled the covers down to reveal a trembling Amelia, trying to hide under her pillow now. She was petrified. When she felt his hand on her shoulder, she yelped and scrunched up into a ball._

_But it felt gentle to Amelia. This baffled her. The only person she could think of that made her feel that way was...Durbe. Her knight. Amelia looked up curiously, her emerald eyes shimmering in fear. That soon changed, however, when she realized who she was staring at._

Durbe?!_ Amelia thought, eyes widened with fear. _What the...how?! How is this possible?!

_Durbe's calm gray eyes helped her to stop shaking. Amelia gently turned over and sat up. She couldn't believe she recognized this Barian as the knight she'd known in her first life. But just to be sure, she acted clueless. _

_"You...aren't going to hurt me?" Amelia questioned. Durbe shook his head._

_"Nope. I wouldn't dream of it, Amelia."_

_"Thanks...who are you? You're really different from the others."_

_"Durbe. Trust me, I won't hurt you."_

_Well, she'd been right about one thing. _

_"Okay..." Amelia looked up at Durbe. For the first time since she came to Barian World, she smiled and meant it. With a calm gesture, she lay back down. Durbe did the same, holding Amelia close._

_Amelia smiled as she drifted to sleep. She'd made a friend for a second time. _

XxXxXxXx

A few years had passed since Amelia had first encountered Durbe. Now, as a twelve-year-old, reminicing that time was really rather nice. At the moment, she was sitting atop another Baria Crystal, knocking her heels against it as she examined yet another wound Vector had plastered upon her body. This one, thankfully, wasn't nearly as bad as the others, but it still hurt like chiz. Amelia traced her fingers across the cut on her arm, knowing that it would heal soon.

"Tch," she muttered, crossing her arms. "Stupid Vector. I wish he'd just leave me alone."

"I could help with that."

Amelia shrieked and bounced so high, she about fell off the Baria Crystal when she landed back on it. She whipped around, staring as Durbe came walking around the corner. Blush began to form on her cheeks as she spoke.

"D-Durbe-sama! How long have you been listening in?"

"Long enough to know what's disturbing you." Durbe changed to his human form, then walked over to where Amelia sat. He extended his hand. Amelia took it, simply allowing the Barian to help her down gracefully. He smiled, running a hand through Amelia's bangs. "Other than the usual, how's my favorite human doing?"

Amelia smiled, more blush forming on her cheeks. But she didn't care this time. Her emerald eyes traveled up and met with Durbe's smokey-gray ones. "Fine," she responded. "Totally fine."

"That's good. I hate seeing you upset."

This made Amelia's blush darken so much, she was sure the other Barians would be able to see it a mile away. She forced a giggle, turning away from Durbe and refusing to meet his gaze.

But what happened next shocked her greatly.

"Hey, c'mon," Durbe said, gently grabbing Amelia's chin. She blinked, curious to know what he was up to. "You shouldn't feel so down. Don't let Vector get to you. He's just a lowly Barian who gets his kicks out of hurting people like you. Which is why you're lucky I'm your friend."

"Durbe-sama, you don't have to say the obvious."

"I feel like it, though."

Without any warning whatsoever, Durbe kissed Amelia's forehead. She silently gasped. Her emerald eyes drifted down towards her hands, which were wrapped around Durbe's. Just because she could, she put a little pressure on the Barian's pale hands. He flinched, but when he pulled away, he was smiling broadly.

"Listen to me Amelia-chan. If you ever, and I mean _ever_ feel like you're in danger because of Vector or the other Barians, come to me. Understand? I won't let them hurt you."

"O-Okay. Thank you, Durbe-sama."

Durbe chuckled and changed back to his Barian Form. His hands were still clenched around Amelia's. "It's no problem," he said, trying not to dig his claws into Amelia's flesh. He tilted his head to the left, staring into her eyes. "Why do you look so... familiar to me?"

"Huh?" Amelia asked. Durbe's smokey-gray eyes went wide and he gasped, backing away from the pinkette in front of him.

"Did I say that out loud? I didn't mean to Amelia."

"What's the big deal?"

"Well...i-it's just...I had a life before this. I was human, like you. The only reason I know this is because Vector, for some reason, had all his memories and informed us. And in my first life, I knew a girl. She was... just like you. I've been pondering this for so long..."

Amelia frowned. "Are you implying that I remind you of her?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, actually." Durbe's cheeks were turning their own bright shade of pink. He turned away for a moment, then gasped. The blush instantly vanished, and he grabbed Amelia by the shoulders. This startled her, especially when he shook her. "You _are_ the girl! I understand now! You were brought back for a second life, just like me!"

The smile that crossed Amelia's lips was that like no other. She pinned Durbe to the ground in a hug, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You've finally realized it! I would have told you...but I was afraid you wouldn't believe me."

"Nonsense." Durbe held Amelia tightly, his eyes closed delicately. "I would have believed you. And even if I hadn't, I would've at least listened."

"True."

They sat up, staring at one another intently. Durbe looked away long enough to take in his surroundings, and he sighed when he looked back at Amelia. "We should get you back to Earth. I feel Vector may know of your past and could be trying to kill you because of it."

Amelia nodded. She watched as the Barian in front of her disappeared, leaving her alone.

XxXxXxXx

Amelia wandered through the portal leading to the kitchen. She was thirsty, and I was late at night, so she was trying to be quiet about it. As Amelia finally got to the fridge, she could hear two of the Barians talking. Vector and Alit.

"We have all the information we need." Vector spoke first.

"Yes. All except for where Michael is." Alit had a hint of disapproval in his voice.

"That's alright. We can find him ourselves. And when we do, we'll kill him."

Amelia staggered backwards in alarm, a hand over her mouth. They wanted to kill her brother? She couldn't believe it.

"Yes. There can't be two identical Crests. That power would be too much for Barians to handle. We'd be defeated easily."

"Exactly Alit. That's why Amelia is to help us. I must say I feel a little guilty using her like this..."

Alit stared in shock. Amelia was amazed neither Barian had noticed she was there.

"Have you lost your mind? You've gone soft! Why do you care about how a human child feels about this?" Alit glared and stared. Vector looked down with guilt at the floor.

"She's a very nice girl...I don't think it's right to do this, but I have no choice."

"Get over it. Vector, you've gone soft, it's obvious. Now go and rest. We need our strength to start out hunt." As Alit walked away, Vector seemed very upset. Amelia never thought she'd seen the Barian be that upset, especially since he was usually the one to cause her pain.

"Alit, wait! What do we do with Amelia?" Vector called, staring at Alit. He turned around, then shrugged.

"Tell her we couldn't find him, and that we did all we could." Alit opened a portal, but before he went through, he turned back and said, "And stop letting your Rei senses take hold." Then he disappeared. Vector did the same through another portal, still upset. Amelia, scared stiff, couldn't move. When she did, she ran back to her room, hiding under the blankets and trembling.

She hoped they'd never find her brother.

But she didn't want to take any chances. Amelia got the blankets from off her head, then stood and raced out of her room. It didn't take her more than two seconds to find Durbe, who she ran right into. Both of them fell to the ground. Amelia didn't care. She jumped up, tackling the wisteria Barian and pinning him to the ground.

"Amelia! Calm down!" Durbe said, gently pushing the girl off. "What's the matter? You can tell me."

"Vector plans to kill my brother! Help me get back to Earth so I can find him!" Amelia grabbed Durbe's shoulders and pulled in very close to him. "Durbe, please, help me! I don't want my twin to die!"

Durbe winced. He sighed, then nodded and opened a portal that lead back to Earth. "Very well. But be careful."

Amelia's only answer was a nod. She jumped through the portal, hoping she'd find her twin before it was too late.

If only she knew just how long it would really take.

XxXxXxXx

**There you go! That's Amelia's back story. Now, I know it looks like I left off with a major cliffee, but I really didn't. If you've read the entire story line I have with Amelia, you know the rest of her life story. It's no secret. But now, the rest is totally clear as well! You're welcome. Next up: Katanlia, the princess of the land in her first life. Look forward to it!**


	9. Chapter 9: Katanlia

**Alright, here we go! Time for little Katanlia's backstory! Now, I think this will take up to seven chapters. Five to seven, I can't remember how many exactly. Whatever, whatever! Hope you all enjoy anyway!**

XxXxXxXx

"Brother! Wait for me!"

Vector turned around, startled for a moment. He yelped when he was tackled, being pinned to the ground. A usual occurrence. The young prince smiled, chuckling when his violet eyes met with the cat-green ones that were just below him.

"Oh, Katanlia. You really are a dork."

Katanlia smiled and closed her eyes. She giggled, then bounced up from on top of her twin brother. Vector watched as she ran away, vanishing into a humongous pile of leaves that had been made the other day. Leaves from said pile scattered everywhere, but Katanlia was nowhere to be seen.

This concerned Vector. He tilted his head to the left and sat up, looking at where his twin sister had been. "Katanlia?" he called. "Katanlia? Where in the world are you?"

No answer.

The orange-haired boy frowned. "Katanlia! This isn't funny! I demand you come out right this- mph!"

Katanlia giggled. She was holding what was left of a wad of leaves that had been in her hand. And she'd thrown the rest at her twin. Nothing new there.

But there was a small problem. All of the leaves had flown into Vector's mouth.

"Gotcha," Katanlia giggled out. She laughed when Vector spit the leaves out of his mouth, a small glare on his face.

"Okay. I shall admit, that was pretty good. But I will have my revenge!" Vector went charging toward his twin sister. She yelped, acting as though she were scared, and went flying the opposite direction. Behind her, she could hear the leaves crackling. What she didn't know, however, was she'd just started a war.

A leaf war.

They went flying over the hills near the castle, acting like little kids. Katanlia turned around and chuckled, then pounced into another leaf pile. They went floating to the ground after they took flight, landing softly around Vector as he appeared. He looked around, trying to find where his twin sister was hiding.

Dead giveaway. The pile of leaves in front of him waddled.

Vector smirked and picked up a pine cone. "Found ya," he said, tossing it at the leaf pile.

In an instant, Katanlia jumped out of the pile, sending leaves flying in every which direction. She gasped and closed her eyes when a huge wad of the leaves hit her in the face. When she reopened them, she was staring at her twin brother, who had a smirk of satisfaction on his face.

"Gotcha."

"Very funny Vector." Katanlia smiled and brushed herself off, thankful they'd taken their important possessions off before they romped around. Had they not done so, those items would be lost forever in leaf piles.

A small breeze picked up, causing Katanlia's neon-blue bangs to whip around in circles. Nobody was really sure where she got the green eyes or the blue bangs, but no one cared either. Katanlia was still a very beautiful, young princess. Every time she went down to the town, Vector made her put her hood up so she wouldn't be seen. While Katanlia thought it was rather ridiculous, Vector had a very good reason. Lots of people in that town would do lots of things to get their hands on a princess. If someone got a hold of his twin sister...

He didn't even want to think of the problems and the pain that would cause.

"HEY! What have I told you guys about screwing around with my leaf piles!?"

Katanlia shrieked and jumped behind Vector, trembling slightly as Kiraku came charging at them. He looked really, really miffed. (Don't forget that Kiraku is Gilag's name in his past life, some of us tend to forget about that one and I don't wanna be the one to blame for it.)

"Whatever, Kiraku. I could get you removed from the royal family if I wanted. Remember, you're not technically our older brother. You're our _half-_brother, from our father's side," Vector warned, placing one hand on his hip and using the other to push Katanlia a little more behind him. Though he sounded confident, he knew Kiraku would do something. And he did not want his twin sister to get hurt.

Kiraku acted as though those words had flown right over his head. "I don't care what you think you can do! I did not spend four hours yesterday raking leaves just so you two boneheads could mess up all my work! It's one thing if the wind messes it up, since I have no say in that. But it's a totally different thing when you two purposely do it!"

"I don't really care. Like I said, you can't make us do anything. But I could make you do whatever I wish if I wanted to." Vector narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you should have rethought your actions."

That did it. Kiraku had had enough. And he showed it by punching Vector right in the face, sending him flying.

"Vector!" Katanlia screamed, racing to her twin brother's side when he landed. The orange-haired boy looked up at her and smiled. She could tell he was doing his absolute best to ignore the pain that had just caused him.

"I'm alright, Katanlia," Vector insisted, allowing Katanlia to pull him up. She threw her arms around him, tears streaming down her cheeks. There was no way to tell whether they were from pain or joy, but it didn't matter. Together, the two of them stood up, ignoring Kiraku as they began to walk toward the castle.

"Hey! Get back here! I ain't done with you yet!" Kiraku hollered.

It was no use. Katanlia and Vector were already on the other side of the hill. There was a small pause between them, but Katanlia eventually broke it by bending down and picking her valuables up. She slid her bracelet and her crown on, then pulled her small cape over her head. Vector did the same, shaking himself off and messing his orange hair up in the process.

"C'mon, sis," Vector said, extending a hand toward her. Katanlia looked up at him, staring intently at his violet eyes. (She's about an inch and a half shorter than him.) Finally, however, she nodded and took his hand.

"Okay," she said.

The two of them began to walk towards the castle, ignoring what little of Kiraku's yelling they could hear.


	10. Chapter 10

The night was cold and wet. Rain pelted down very harshly outside, and inside was no better. The roof had somehow managed to spring a leek, and what was worse was Katanlia's blankets weren't doing their job. At the moment, she was the total opposite of warm.

With a shiver, Katanlia rolled over. She was now facing Vector, who slept in his own bed and was apparently immune to the cold that plagued the girl. While she was utterly fascinated by this, Katanlia ignored it and got out of her bed. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she felt as though she'd been frozen from the inside out. She shook it off, however, and walked across the room to her twin brother's bed. Lazily, she crawled in it with him.

This woke Vector up. He blinked, then stared at Katanlia from where he lay. "Katanlia?" he yawned out, sitting up and stretching. "What's up? Did you have a nightmare or something?"

"No," Katanlia responded, blushing a little bit and being thankful this was a rather dark room. "I'm just really cold."

"Oh. Why didn't you say so?" Vector lay back down and threw the blankets over both of them. He grabbed his twin sister and held her close, transmitting his own body heat over to her. "Feel better?" he asked, looking down at her.

Katanlia nodded. She smiled and scooted close to Vector, placing her head on his chest. "Yes, very. Thank you Vector."

"It's no problem. Now go back to sleep."

That wasn't a problem at all. In an instant, the twins were unconscious, snoring softly and cuddling unknowingly from time to time.

Though the rain continued to pour and it continued to be cold, Katanlia and Vector were safe, sound, and warm together.

XxXxXxXx

When Katanlia awoke the next morning, she nearly forgot she was snuggled against her twin brother. She turned over enough to be able to look outside, staring curiously. Well, the rain had stopped, but the clouds had a long way to go before they were completely gone.

It didn't matter. Katanlia gently pulled away and sat up, stretching as Vector had the night before. She yawned as well before she got out of the bed, then walked out of the room.

And as soon as she rounded the corner, she felt hands grab her arms and hoist her into the air.

Katanlia let out a shrill scream and began to kick at the air. "Let me down!" she demanded, trying her best to escape. "Let me down right this instant!"

"Sorry Katanlia. No can do."

Now, Katanlia froze, her eyes wide with shock. She gulped, then slowly turned her head and stared at the person behind her. As shocking as it was, it was the person Katanlia had been expecting the entire time.

Kiraku.

"Now, listen to me little girl," Kiraku hissed in Katanlia's ear. "I have had it up to here with your and you brother's actions. This is the forty-fifth time this month you've destroyed something I've spent a whole day doing. Now, you're going to pay."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say, I created something that there is no way you can destroy." Kiraku's eyes glowed pink for a moment. Katanlia gasped in shock. She knew what was going on, for she spent most of her time reading up on old legends as a kid. Her mouth was cupped as she was about to scream for Vector. Which could only mean one thing.

She was in biiiig trouble.

XxXxXxXx

The clouds were still hanging overhead. Katanlia couldn't believe that the sky was so dark at the moment. She also couldn't believe she was stuck tied to a pole. All around it was black powder, and as soon as Katanlia had seen it, she knew that Kiraku planned to light her on fire.

"Just let me go," Katanlia pleaded, looking at Kiraku from where she was tied. "I promise that Vector and I won't mess with your hard work stuff anymore. Just let me go first."

This caused Kiraku to let out a horrific laugh, one unlike any Katanlia had ever heard him make. "That's not gonna happen. See, if I get you outta the picture, Vector won't have anyone to screw my work up with. I ain't takin' the chance of letting you go to find the two of you doing the opposite of your promise, little princess."

Katanlia gulped. She hadn't seen anybody else when Kiraku had abducted her. That meant that, most likely, nobody would hear her screams when the flames began to consume her.

"Have fun Katanlia. Hope you're good at coolin' off," Kiraku said, taking a couple of rocks and hitting them so hard that they sparked. One of said sparks hit a stick nearby, instantly lighting it on fire. Kiraku wasted no time in grabbing it and tossing it over the black powder.

For some reason, one Katanlia couldn't understand, the flames were about as fast as a slug. Katanlia had tears in her eyes as they began to pick up a little speed, then began to grow. They slowly began to hit Katanlia, causing her to cry out every time one hit.

Those cries were quite loud, and despite the fact they were in a vacant city, the forest near it was not. A young man with forest-green eyes and brown, tentacle-like hair jolted up, staring at the cloud of smoke that was being formed from the city. At first, he payed no mind to it.

But when he heard Katanlia's scream, he began to rush away with complete and total confidence he could save whoever was being harmed.

When he got there, he was shocked to see the princess of the nearby land being burned at the stake.

"Hey!" the man yelled, charging towards Kiraku. "Let her go!"

"Huh?" went Kiraku. He didn't have time to react before the blow hit him in the face. In an instant, he was on the ground, and before he could get back up, the man who'd punched him was in the flames.

Katanlia, to say the least, was hurt, and badly. She could barely breathe, let alone feel it when the arms of the man who'd punched Kiraku circled around her. But she didn't dare to fight it. If anything, she sank into the embrace as the heat vanished from her. She could hear a gasp, and felt fingers trace across her chest.

"Oh no," somebody said. Katanlia could feel it as they picked up speed, rushing away with her in their grasp. For once, she didn't care where they were going. Anywhere was fine, so long as she was away from Kiraku and his craziness.

XxXxXxXx

The man didn't stop running, not even when he was on the castle steps. He'd made it at last. Carrying Princess Katanlia fifteen miles wasn't exactly smooth sailing for him, but he was determined to get her to safety.

_Almost there,_ he thought. _Just gotta get to the doors..._

And get to the doors he did. He just about ran into them. Well, actually, he did, but he'd been able to turn around and ram into them with his shoulder. Though that caused him great pain, he didn't let it stop him. When the soldiers of the castle swarmed him, all he had to do was show them Katanlia was injured. They backed off, allowing him to race up to the throne.

Just his luck. At the moment, Vector sat upon it. And upon his face was the most freaked out look of fear the man had ever seen.

"K-Katanlia...," Vector stammered. He got up and slowly made his way down the stairs that led to the throne, then took in his twin sister's appearance. Her clothes were scorched, and she was hardly breathing. Judging by the looks of the man that held her in his grasp, he'd been hurt by the same flames trying to save her. Vector looked up, staring into the forest-green eyes across from him. "How did this h-h-happen to her?"

"I don't know. There was another man there. Tall, greenish hair. Buff. I knocked him down, your highness, and saved your beloved twin sister. But I fear she may not make it without proper treatment, which is why I did not stop my journey to bring her back."

Vector's eyes were clouded with tears. "I know who did this," he growled. He then motioned with his hand and began to run up the stairs. The man chased after him, not daring to stop until they arrived at their destination.

They raced through four sets of doors and took a sharp left, then went into a single room. Vector ran to Katanlia's bed, pointing to it. "Here. Set her here, please," he said. The man across from him nodded and did as he was told, placing Katanlia in her bed and covering her up to her chest with the blankets. Katanlia stirred, but did not wake up.

Awkward silence. That was soon all they heard.

Vector was the one to break it, as usual.

"T-Thank you for brining Katanlia here," he said, turning and facing the man next to him. "Who are you?"

The man smiled softly. "Alit. My name is Alit. I'm a gladiator in one of the nearby towns. Katanlia's lucky I happened to be patrolling the forest in search of a nice area to train. Otherwise, she may not be here at the moment."

Vector smiled to himself. "Yes. I suppose she is rather lucky. Kiraku, however, is in for a mess of trouble."

"Commander Kiraku? He's the one who did this?"

"Yes, he is." Vector turned back and looked at Katanlia. He placed a hand on her cheek, then sighed, thankful of her luck. He glared, remembering what he planned to do to Kiraku.

"Well, what're you going to do?" Alit asked.

"I'm going to have him arrested, and most likely executed."


	11. Chapter 11

Many days and nights passed since Alit had brought Katanlia back to her and her brother's castle after rescuing her from Kiraku's attempt to kill her. After being totally sure she'd survive, Alit went back to his home town, leaving Vector to take care of his twin sister's injuries. It had also been many days and nights since Vector had issued a search to find and arrest Kiraku.

"Katanlia...I am so sorry this happened to you," Vector murmured, running a hand through the girl's neon-blue bangs. "If only I would've woken up. Then maybe this wouldn't have happened. You'd be okay..."

"You highness?"

Vector whipped around, startled. He stared at the knight that had snuck up on him, giving him a glare for a moment. "What is it?" he asked, and rather rudely on accident. The knight stiffened, but straightened up in a matter of two seconds.

"Sire, we have managed to capture Kiraku. He's currently locked away in our prison. Shall we inform the executer he is needed?"

"Yes. Please do. That man deserves the highest punishment for trying to kill Katanlia."

The knight nodded. "I shall go find him, your highness."

Soon enough, Vector and Katanlia were alone again. The orange-haired prince sighed, taking his valuables off and climbing into the bed with his twin sister. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "I won't let you get hurt like this ever again, Katanlia," he whispered. In response, Katanlia snuggled closer to him.

A small smile crossed Vector's lips. He ran his fingers through Katanlia's hair for a moment, then yawned and closed his violet eyes. Pretty soon, he was asleep, completely ignoring the commotion that was suddenly occurring outside on that night.

XxXxXxXx

Rays from the morning sun were pouring into the room when Vector woke up the next day. He blinked, then looked down at Katanlia. And oh man, he couldn't have been happier.

Katanlia was awake.

"Katanlia!" Vector hollered, sitting up with his sister and pulling her into an affectionate hug. "You're alive!"

"Ouch! Brother, please be careful! My chest burns!" Katanlia said, trying to adjust herself so the pain would go away.

"Oh. Sorry." While Vector did loosen his hold, he didn't completely let go. This was so much better to Katanlia. She snuggled against her twin brother, a happy smile crossing her face.

"It's okay," she said. "Those stupid flames scorched my chest real bad, that's all. I'm sure it'll heal eventually. Or, at least, the pain will go away."

One could only hope that's what would happen.

"Sire! We've got trouble!"

Vector and Katanlia turned, staring at the knight as he raced inside their room. The same one who had come in the night before now. He was panting heavily, and his armor had lots of scratches and dents in it, signifying he'd just come out f a crazy fight.

"Well, what's going on?" Katanlia asked, tilting her head to the left a little bit. "You can't just keep us in the dark about it."

"Kiraku. He has broken out of prison."

While Vector's eyes widened in fear, Katanlia's widened in confusion. "Since when was he in the prison?" she asked, looking at her twin brother.

"Since he tried to burn you alive," Vector replied, standing up and glaring. "Tell me you have men out there trying to find him!"

The knight nodded. "Y-Yes, sir. Many of us are trying to find him. Unfortunately, we've had no luck so far."

"Then try harder!" Vector's voice was suddenly very frightening and loud. Katanlia and the knight both squeaked and jumped up a little bit, scared out of their wits for about two seconds. "I refuse to let trying to burn the one closest to me to death go unpunished!"

Katanlia could feel her cheeks getting very hot as she blushed. "V-Vector...," she whispered to herself, thankfully not loud enough for anyone to hear.

"I'll tell the men to go and expand their search!" the knight yelled, running out the door he'd bolted in from.

Vector growled in annoyance. "Idiotic fools, the all of them," he muttered. Katanlia was stunned. Never before had she heard her brother call his loyal men fools.

"You don't really mean that, do you, brother?"

This made Vector turn and stare at Katanlia with a confused look. "Mean what?" he asked. "Did I say something weird?"

Dumbfounded, Katanlia nodded. "Um...yeah. You kinda called your men idiotic fools."

"I would never!"

"But you did." Katanlia got up, wincing a moment from the pain, and stared at her twin brother. She placed her hands on his shoulders, peering into his violet eyes curiously. "It's freaking me out a little bit. You seem to be acting stranger every single day."

"Huh?"

Katanlia sighed, taking her hands from Vector's shoulders. "Forget it," she said, walking away shortly after.

XxXxXxXx

Evening fell quite quickly. Vector hadn't received any word on the progress of capturing Kiraku, so he decided to leave the subject alone. Besides, Katanlia needed to be taken care of. Her burn was keeping her from doing a lot, including wearing a few of her valuables and going outside to play with her twin brother.

Vector hadn't minded. He'd simply told Katanlia she needed her rest, then prepared her bed for her. Though at first she was quite defiant about obeying her twin brother, Katanlia eventually accepted and crawled in the bed. A few minutes later, she'd fallen asleep. Vector had gone into town shortly after, making sure there were a few knights guarding Katanlia while he was gone.

And when he'd come back, he had the thing that would heal Katanlia's burn in his hands.

He'd wasted no time applying it to Katanlia's burn. In her sleep, she'd moaned, but thankfully not waken up. Vector had honestly been afraid that she would awaken and punch him in the face, like she did once as a little kid.

That had been totally on accident though. In Katanlia's own defense, she had every right to punch him, considering the fact he had just lifted her up to get her out of the bed. She thought Vector was an intruder, which did not end too well on his part.

Vector smiled and bent down, kissing his twin sister on the forehead and running a hand through her neon-blue bangs before he left. He closed the door softly, then made his way to the main sector of the castle. He was alone, with all the other knights outside and messing around trying to find Kiraku. (Minus the two in his and Katanlia's room. Someone's gotta guard the princess when he's not around!)

Suddenly, a wave of heat went shuddering throughout his body, causing Vector to yelp in pain for a moment. As quickly as it had come, it was gone. It didn't, however, go without leaving something behind. And what it left behind, was not what anyone had expected. Darkness and insanity.

That's what it had left behind, and by the looks of the smirk on Vector's face, it was there to stay.


	12. Chapter 12

When Katanlia woke up, she had no idea what time it was. Like the night she'd awoken because of being cold, it was dark outside, so she could guess it was around two or three in the morning. Thankfully, she wasn't cold this time. Katanlia sat up, stretching and yawning. She looked towards Vector's bed, then gasped in shock.

Vector wasn't there. And neither were the guards.

"Huh? Vector! Vector where are you?" Katanlia called, jumping from her bed and racing out of the room the two twins shared. She walked down the hallway, peeking quietly into every room to see if Vector was there.

Of course, he wasn't.

It didn't seem to matter which corridor she went down, which room she entered. Katanlia couldn't find Vector anywhere. In fact, it was beginning to look as though he'd simply vanished off the face of the Earth itself, never to be seen again.

"This isn't funny anymore Vector! Show yourself!" Katanlia yelled, her voice echoing off the castle's interior walls. She shuddered, angered she'd forgotten to grab her long-sleeved throw over before leaving her room. It was so much colder out here for some reason, and she was freezing her butt off in an attempt to find her twin brother.

Besides, it would end up being her luck he wouldn't even be in the castle. Most likely, he was outside, trying to take his mind off of what had happened in the past couple of days. He was just clearing his mind. Still, it couldn't hurt to look, right?

Right.

Katanlia peeked into the main sector. Vector wasn't there, but the doors were wide open. Alarmed and fearing the worst, the brunette silently leaped into the air, landing at the bottom of the steps. She crept around the room through the shadows, trying to see if anything was outside the doors, waiting to attack. When she was sure nothing was there, Katanlia sprang into the night, startling the wildlife that had come to chill in the coolness of the night.

Other than the sounds of her own breathing and her footsteps, Katanlia heard nothing. Not even the wind. All was still and silent, like a scene that would come straight out of a book of horror. Katanlia's cat-green eyes darted over to the left suddenly, picking up on the outline of a figure before her ears caught the sound of its movement.

They stayed locked on one another for a moment. Katanlia didn't even blink, thinking if she did, this thing would vanish. Maybe it was simply because it was three in the morning, or maybe she really thought that. Katanlia couldn't be sure. All she knew was she'd spotted something, and was not going to let it out of her sight.

That was about the time the figure darted away.

Katanlia didn't waste a single second. She scampered after the foreign thing, keeping up with it fairly easily. It ran about as fast as her, and she had run outside barefoot, leaving her high heels behind. That made it easier for her to run. She didn't have to worry about falling and twisting an ankle that much without her heels.

Katanlia chased the thing throughout the forest, into the court yard of the castle, and finally into the front yard. It stood before her in the doorway, only now, she could tell what it was. In fact, she could tell _who_ it was.

Vector.

"Hey!" Katanlia yelled, crossing her arms. "This is no time to be playing chase, Vector! We should both be inside sleeping right now!"

A dark chuckle came from Vector. It startled Katanlia, for she knew it was laced with evil and chaos. Realizing the situation may have become dangerous, Katanlia began to back up. Vector followed right behind her, taking one of his daggers from his pocket and tossing it. Katanlia narrowly dodged it with a scream. Her cat-green eyes were shaking in fear as she gulped.

"W-What the heck was that all about?" Katanlia stammered, frozen in her spot.

Vector's smirk could be seen in the dim moonlight. "It's time I get rid of you, Katanlia. I have a plan to take out one of the other kingdoms, and your pure heart will interfere with that. I can't have that, now, can I?"

"What are you saying? This is crazy talk, Vector! You'd never hurt a fly, let alone a whole kingdom!"

"I don't know what reality you've been living in this whole time, but I can assure you that I am nothing like that. Now, it's time for my plan to go into action." Vector held up two fingers as his violet eyes glowed pink for a moment. Katanlia gasped.

It was the same kind of pink Kiraku's had glowed when he tried to kill her.

"I'll give you two options. One: Death."

Katanlia shook her head, but she was rather afraid to find out the second option.

"Okay then. Number two: I banish you from the royal kingdom, taking away all of your powers, precious items, and most importantly, the place you rely on to live."

"You have no right to do that to your own sister! Besides, this isn't like you!" Katanlia had a few tears streaming down her cheeks. "You wouldn't do this unless it wasn't you thinking. And that's what I'm beginning to believe is really happening. It's literally _not_ you!"

Whatever it was now, it was not happy. Vector smirked again and pointed towards the forest the two of them had just come racing out of.

"I don't care. And I suggest you leave before I kill you anyway."

"But-"

"Now!"

Katanlia jumped up in shock. She'd only heard Vector use that tone one other time, and that was when he was lashing out on that knight. This made her wonder for just one moment if they ever really did find Kiraku, but that thought quickly evaded her mind when another dagger went whizzing past her face. With a scream, Katanlia turned and began to run, fearing the worst again as she disappeared deep into the forest.

Vector smiled deviously. "Perfect. Now, to fulfill my plans!"

He too turned and headed off in his own direction, preparing for the invasion of a lifetime.


	13. Chapter 13

Okay, so maybe running through the forest in the middle of the night was not Katanlia's best idea. So far, she'd passed about four wolves and two bears. Thankfully, they didn't get enough time to smell her, so she was able to escape. But just having the moonlight to guide her wasn't exactly enough. Even though she could see in the dark quite well, Katanlia couldn't see through the tears that were fogging her eyes up.

Katanlia came to a stop near by one of the large trees. She leaned against it, then sat down, staring at herself and her outfit. Her skirt had been torn way shorter than it should've been by thorn bushes, and her legs were skinned up pretty badly too. There was a rather large gash on her arm from one of the tree limbs, which had been burning with pain for some time now.

"Alright," Katanlia whispered to herself, her breathing beginning to go back to normal. "It's official. I'm lost. And unless I get found, I'm gonna be some wild animal's lunch."

As if on queue, one of the bushes that was next to her waddled. Katanlia went wide-eyed, one of her neon-blue bangs covering her face as she stared in fear at the bush. What jumped out of it, however, was the total opposite of what she'd expected.

A tiny, brown, cottontail bunny.

"Awwww, so cute," Katanlia said. She slowly extended her hand out. The bunny sniffed it, then stared up at her. Unfortunately, he could see she didn't have any food.

That didn't seem to stop him. The bunny lay down next to Katanlia, causing her to giggle. It seemed he was going to keep her company for a little while. Or, at least, until she found more human company.

Katanlia sighed, then scooped the bunny up in her arms and began to walk away with him. She walked around a few of the trees that were in the direction the bunny had come from, trying to stay out of the way of other, more vicious wild animals. But when she got to the other side, Katanlia gasped.

She'd found a city.

"Were you leading me here? Is that why you...bunny?" Katanlia looked around, staring at her arms for a moment and then looking around on the ground. The bunny was nowhere to be seen.

_Huh. I wonder where he could've gone off to._

Katanlia shook it off. It was one of those moments she'd have to let go. Right now, she needed to get down into that city. Carefully, Katanlia began to walk down the hill. She kept her eyes forward the entire time, leaving the forest and all its possible danger behind.

Lamp light began to take the place of moonlight. Katanlia was marveling the city. It was beautiful, and it appeared to be rather calm. She knew it wasn't vacant, however, because people were walking around her as well. Katanlia's cat-green eyes looked about, trying to see if she recognized any of the faces. While she doubted she would, it couldn't hurt to try.

Well, she didn't recognize any of the faces. But one of them sure seemed to recognize her.

"Hey! Katanlia! What are you doing here?"

Katanlia whipped around, staring intently into a pair of forest-green eyes. She tilted her head curiously. "Do I know you?" she asked, turning all the way around when she realized she wasn't going to get hurt.

"Probably not. You were unconscious when I rescued you." The man stuck his hand out, smiling gently. Katanlia grabbed it and shook it, smiling a little bit.

And then, she gasped.

"You! You're the one who saved me from my brother, aren't you?" Katanlia asked, grabbing the man by his shoulders and staring into his eyes.

"Yep! My name's Alit. And of course, I know who you are."

Alit simply smiled. He grabbed Katanlia's hand the way Vector often did, then began to walk away with her.

Katanlia tilted her head to the right. "Where are we going?" she asked, attempting to ignore the fact there was heavy blush on her cheeks. She ended up looking away when Alit glanced back at her. But in all honesty, he didn't care if she was embarrassed.

In fact, she looked rather cute that way.

"We're going to the place I live in this town. I have the feeling you'll like it a lot."

Katanlia found it hard to believe someone would call a place this big a town, but she shook that off and followed after Alit. He wasn't wasting any time. In fact, it seemed to be that he was in a hurry. The green-eyed man went racing around the corner like a little kid, startling Katanlia with his speed and strength.

They went flying around a few more corners, darting into dark alleys, and finally into a beautiful meadow. This was where Alit finally slowed down. He still had Katanlia's hand in his, but she didn't mind. It was nice to know there was company nearby, anyway.

Now that the two of them weren't in such a hurry, Katanlia could take in all the scenery. The meadow grass was waving back and forth slowly in the breeze, and it was wet with dew. Because of that, when the moonlight shone on it, it glistened and glimmered. Every now and again, a deer would run out of the small woods nearby, but that was about it for the wildlife. Other than that, the princess and the gladiator were alone together.

A small smile crossed Alit's lips. "Come," he said, sitting down in the grass. "Take a seat and enjoy the scenery."

Katanlia hesitantly did as she was told. For some reason, the grass felt very soft, despite being wet with dew and water. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Alit lay down. She copied him, staring up at the stars and the clouds.

"So..."

Alit turned and looked at Katanlia. She was still staring at the sky, but she was moving her arms up and down like they were laying in snow.

"Yeah?" Alit asked. "What's up?"

"Why were we in such a hurry back in the city? Like...why were we running?"

"People have been known to nab princesses before. You didn't have your hood, and I noticed right away. So I simply ran away with you. To keep you safe."

"I see...I think."

The two of them started to laugh as they sat up. Alit stared at Katanlia for a moment, noticing her and her clothes current condition. He cocked his head to one side, blinking innocently and curiously.

"Hey, what happened to you? You look like a dragon attacked you."

Katanlia laughed. "No, silly. A thorn bush attacked me."

"Oh. Wait...how'd a thorn bush attack you?"

"I was running from Vector..." Katanlia hung her head, closing her cat-green eyes as they began to gush tears. "He's gone insane. He wants to go and kill one of the nearby kingdoms. It's so unlike him. He also banished me from the royal palace and took all of my powers as a princess away. I'm unable to do anything about it."

"Seriously? That's unusual."

"Yes, I know. He's gone mental, like I said. I...I...I-I..."

Katanlia couldn't take it anymore. She started to sob. Alit gasped and wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to cry onto his shoulder. He ran a hand through her glossy hair, not wishing to see her upset.

"Shhh," Alit whispered into Katanlia's ear. "Shhh. It's okay. Maybe it's just a phase."

"N-No, it can't be. He wouldn't point a sword at me no matter what."

Alit had run out of words. He stood up, taking Katanlia's hand again, and lead them both a little into the woods. At first, Katanlia was frightened. But when they got to the foot of a small house, she knew exactly what was going on.

They had just wandered over to the gladiator's place of living.

"Whoa. Nice place...for a gladiator," Katanlia said. She wasn't trying to sound rude, but she knew she had. Regardless, Alit didn't care. He was sure she was used to tidier things, considering the fact she was a princess.

"Yeah, it is. C'mon." Alit walked up and opened the door for her. Katanlia smiled and walked inside. In an instant, Alit was there too, closing the door. He lit one of the candles and walked away, expecting Katanlia to follow him. Of course, she did.

"Here. I suppose we can share the bed, if that's okay with you."

"That's fine. Vector and I do- er, I meant did- the same thing a lot. No big deal."

"If you say so."

Alit put the candle on the nightstand next to the bed, then took his armor off. He placed it on the other side of the nightstand. Afterwards, he grabbed Katanlia's hand, and both of them lay down in the bed. Katanlia playfully climbed on top of him, but only long enough to blow the candle out. She smiled and lay back down.

"Thanks for letting me stay," Katanlia whispered. Alit shrugged.

"Hey, I could use the company."

The two of them fell asleep in an instant, making the only sound in the room their snoring.


	14. Chapter 14

Unbelievable was the only word Katanlia could think of at the moment. She was staring up at the ceiling, playing with her new throw over. Thanks to Alit, they'd been able to get one, and a replacement skirt. Though they were the same style, they weren't red, like her old ones.

They were blue.

Katanlia didn't care, though. She loved the color blue. Besides, if she had something that could keep her warm at night or when she was outside, what did it matter?

Now, back to the unbelievable part. An entire year had passed since Katanlia had wandered there, and so far, there was no sign of Vector's craziness. The girl just couldn't believe it. It seemed like only yesterday she'd come to this city and found Alit.

But what really baffled her mind was the news of her older brother's death.

Though Katanlia wouldn't admit it for the largest amount of money offered, she was pretty upset about Kiraku's death. Sure, he tried to kill her, and she'd wanted nothing more than revenge on him. But not death. Anything but death. Katanlia wasn't one for revenge in a violent way. This wasn't what she'd had in mind at all.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Katanlia sat up and stared at it in shock as Alit came racing through, jumping in front of her and panting heavily.

"Alit!" Katanlia exclaimed. "What happened? Is something wrong?"

"Yes. I just ran into a knight from your old castle. You want to know what he told me?"

"Not really."

"It's about your twin brother."

Katanlia froze. She had planned to walk away. But now, she turned back around. "About V-Vector?" she whimpered.

Alit only nodded.

"Well...okay. What? What's going on with him?"

"He's cone completely insane. And now, he's busy attacking the kingdom he'd planned to last year!" Alit got closer to Katanlia, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Katanlia, we have to do something!"

"What can I possibly do?" Katanlia asked, staring into Alit's forest-green eyes. "I'm basically useless without my powers as a princess. Besides, I don't even have a sword on me anymore. Vector scared me away with his before I could get mine." 

This still didn't change Alit's opinion. "So what if you don't have your sword? I have a few of them. You can use one of mine."

"I still won't be able to do much, Alit. Without the authority to tell him to stop, what good am I?"

"Don't talk like that, Katanlia. So you don't have much. But you have _something_. That's enough to get him straightened out, don't you think?"

Katanlia looked straight at the floor for a few minutes. Finally, she looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Alright," she whispered. "Go get those swords you were talking about. I'm ready to at least try and stop Vector."

"That's the spirit!" Alit yelled, charging away and going to go find his swords. He came flying back moments later, handing one to Katanlia and keeping the other for himself. Katanlia examined the sword. Then she swung it in a circle, careful not to hit anything.

A smirk crossed Katanlia's lips. "Let's go," she said.

XxXxXxXx

Dark clouds were forming in the sky as Katanlia's horse galloped along the path in the forest she had laid out in her mind. Behind her, Alit's horse was copying the one in front of it. Katanlia gazed up, staring at the sky and the ominous clouds that circled above them and the dense trees. Then a glare crossed her facial features. Her eyes blazed with fury, but at the same time with fear. Katanlia wanted to stop her brother, but she was so frightened of what Vector might do to counter attack.

They went blasting into the open from the forest, revealing the ocean that the other kingdom's castle overlooked. From where they were, they couldn't see much.

Well, Katanlia couldn't. Alit had gone on a different path without the girl's knowledge. And what he was seeing, was not what he'd been expecting. Quickly, he bounded back to where he had once been, ready to tell Katanlia what was going on.

"Katanlia!"

Katanlia whipped around. She slowed her horse down, then turned it around and stared at Alit as he slowed his down as well.

"What?" Katanlia asked. The wind picked up a little bit. It made her neon-blue bangs flutter into her face and her brunette hair fly around in small circles on her left side as she stared at Alit. "What's so important?"

"Look!"

Both of them turned and looked just in time, watching as the trees were suddenly blown away, roots and all soaring above the ground. Dirt went flying everywhere, but that was the least of their problems. Katanlia's eyes went wide. Then she gasped rather obnoxiously and screamed in fear.

Many, many ships were floating across the ocean water. Accompanied by them were sleek, long, black creatures that had one blue eye and one red eye. They were growling rather loudly, causing the ground to shake.

"What the hell are those things?" Alit wondered, hopping down from the horse he'd been on.

"I have no idea," Katanlia responded, copying the gladiator's actions. She shrieked when a red beam came flying down next to them. Then she stared in shock.

The two horses they'd come here on were total stone.

"Hello!" Alit cried out in confusion, poking his horse with his finger. He punched it, and it instantly shattered to pieces. "And hello, frozen horse pile."

_This isn't the time to be gross at the moment, Alit!_ Katanlia thought, making a grossed-out facial expression. She drew her sword, running from one of the red beams as it came crashing down onto the ground next to her. Her cat-green eyes were blazing with fury again, but that soon changed when she saw a certain ship sailing across the water.

Out of the blue, Katanlia's scream came echoing off the barriers of the sky. She dropped her sword, and it clattered to the ground with a loud clang. Her cat-green eyes grew wide in total fear, and she gasped loudly as Alit came bounding to her side.

"What?" Alit asked, concern in his voice. "What is it?"

"V-Vector!" Katanlia stammered, shaking like a scared puppy.

"Huh?"

Alit figured it out. One of the largest ships they had ever seen was sailing in from the ocean's other beach.

And sitting upon it was Vector, with a wild glare and an insane smirk on his face.


	15. Chapter 15

Katanlia's eyes were wide in shock. She was staring at Vector, trembling slightly as she stared into the violet orbs of eyes that belonged to her twin brother. To say the least, Katanlia was petrified and confused by all of this mess.

"What the hell?!" Alit cried out in shock. He raced up to Katanlia's side and put his sword up. One of his arms circled around the girl's waist, and he pulled her in close. Katanlia could feel the blush forming on her cheeks, but she fought it off and placed her own sword up.

"I don't know what, Alit," Katanlia replied, breaking away from his grip and chucking her sword at one of the black beasts in the water. It went right through it, causing it to shatter to pieces. Somehow, the sword came flying back at her. Katanlia caught it. Then, in all the panic, she looked up at Vector.

The look on his face was that of pure anger and insanity.

_What in the world is going on here? Vector needs to stop this right now! Someone could get hurt!_

Little did she know, that was the plan. Vector smirked and stood.

"Well well! If it isn't my annoying twin sister, Katanlia! I see you've been faring sorta well on your own. For a girl!" Vector yelled. This set Katanlia off. She glared, then took a few steps forward.

"How dare you insult me! Since when do you want to set things on fire or kill innocent lives? That is not like you, Vector!" Katanlia cried back. A few tears streaked down her cheeks as she bit her lip before yelling out her thoughts. "You're making a _huge_ mistake!"

Vector cackled. "Oh really? Mistake this then! You there!" He pointed to two of the knights that were on his ship. "Take the gladiator prisoner!"

"What the huh?" Alit gasped, putting his sword up in attempt to fend off the oncoming forces. The sword was knocked out of his hand, and he was grabbed by the neck. Katanlia gasped and raced forward, trying to slash the knights off of her friend.

Fail, to say the least.

One of the knights whacked Katanlia, sending her flying backwards. She cried out when she hit the ground, her cat-green eyes shaking in fear as they pulled Alit onto the ship. Vector smirked.

"Good. Now, Katanlia, if you don't cooperate, bad things are going to happen to your little friend here," Vector sneered, staring into his twin sister's eyes. They were still shaking with fear, but Katanlia didn't care. She was more concerned with Alit's safety.

"Fine," she hissed. "What do you want me to do?"

"Katanlia! Don't do it!" Alit yelled, trying to free himself from the knights that had him bound.

Vector was not amused. "Silence him!" he ordered. Instantly, the knights obeyed, and Alit couldn't speak a word. They'd tied his mouth with rope, which had also managed to make Katanlia rather mad. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about that. If she did, she knew they'd hurt Alit.

"So. What do you want?" Katanlia questioned for a second time, staring at her twin brother with curiosity and anger. It wasn't a good combination, but it didn't phase Vector. Rather, it made him smirk.

"Oh, nothing much. Just surrender and allow yourself to be killed. That is all I require."

Katanlia stiffened. "You're insane," she muttered. "Utterly insane. I'm not going to surrender. Think of something else before I go up there and hurt you."

"Ohhh, I'm so scared of my puny twin sister! I'm actually ashamed to be related to you!"

"That isn't true and you know it! Snap out of it Vector! This isn't like you. You know that. Just stop this mess before it gets worse."

Vector payed no mind to his twin sister's words. Instead, he let out a wild laugh, which sent a shiver down Katanlia's spine. Her eyes narrowed into a glare. They widened when Vector grabbed Alit and pulled his sword out, placing it near the gladiator's neck.

"Hey!" Alit yelled, struggling to get free. "Let me go!"

"Sorry kid, but you've done all your life can allow."

In one second, it seemed that all hell broke loose. Blood from Alit's wound spattered everywhere. The gasp he'd made echoed in Katanlia's ears. Tears were threatening to flow out of her eyes when she heard Alit scream her name. She didn't even blink when she watched him fall over, and in an instant, she knew he was dead.

"A-Alit...," Katanlia whimpered softly. Her sword fell from her hands and tears dripped from her eyes, and she couldn't seem to stop shaking. Vector smirked and took his sword out of Alit's motionless body, giggling like a maniac when he saw the terror sketched over his sister's facial features.

"Now, what were you saying about this not being me?" Vector asked, twirling his sword around like it didn't matter at all. Katanlia's bangs were covering her eyes, casting a shadow over them. She looked up, revealing her tear-stained cheeks, and growled menacingly.

"That was uncalled for!" Katanlia screamed. "You're a complete maniac! How could you ever do this?! It's not like you! I don't care _what_ you say! It's not like the Vector I know!"

"That Vector is in my past! This is me now. And I will not be stopped by something as weak as you."

Katanlia was furious and upset at the same time. "How dare you! I'll show you weak! Get down here and fight me yourself if you're so confident, you miserable coward!"

This, somehow, managed to make Vector's violet orbs of eyes widen in shock. They settled back to their original size and he put his sword up, growling like a hound as he jumped onto the dock in front of the boat. He stared into Katanlia's cat-green eyes as she picked her own sword up, then took a few steps closer to her.

"If that's what you want, that's what you'll get. But I warn you now, fool, you're the one making a huge mistake."

"Bull."

The two of them simply had a stare down for a few minutes. But finally, they jumped at one another. Katanlia avoided the attack, but she managed to hit Vector with her sword. The whole entire time, Katanlia's eyes were gushing tears. She was hurting on the inside. This was her twin brother, the person she was closest to in the world. And she was about to battle him.

To the death.


End file.
